


Love Is Easy

by EverytimeIDoSomethingStupid (kingkongkitty)



Category: British Actor RPF
Genre: Changing POV, Coffee, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fake Sherlock Season 4, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting a Job, Old Friends, POV First Person, Romance, Tea, The Author Regrets Nothing, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-01-15 17:42:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 26,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1313596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingkongkitty/pseuds/EverytimeIDoSomethingStupid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meg is just your typical girl until she lands the dream job of a TV actress. It may be a minor part, but who cares when you're co-starring with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thank God That's Over!

“Can you please put your pens down and stop writing.” The moderators voice rang through the large hall, her voice echoing against the corrugated steel walls. “There is to be no talking, eye contact or any other form of communication to occur between candidates as we collect your test papers in. Any form of communication will result in failure in this exam.” Some moderators are nice, but this one was a patronizing control freak. The rumor is that she once disqualified someone for sneezing during a test, and my entire class had been dreading our slot with her. 

At her signal, we stood as one and exited the room, our excited voices rising quickly. I glanced around quickly, but I couldn’t spot Bethany. I decided to exit with the crowd and find her outside.

I couldn’t stop the grin spreading across my face as I left the building. The months of stress were finally off my shoulders. I’d done it. I’d survived university. I walked around in the fresh air, slowly easing the tension from my muscles after being hunched over an exam paper for the last 4 hours, letting my hair loose as I stretched gently. 

I combed my fingers through my hair, before catching a movement in the corner of my eye. I spun quickly as someone barreled into me. A pair of skinny arms wrapped around my waist as I squeezed their owner hard. “We’ve done it Ginge. We’ve survived it!”

“I know, my lovely BFG!” Bethany, aka Ginge, has been my best friend since high school. She grinned back at me, ecstatic. She’d been struggling with our workload since almost day one, so now the exams were done, she could finally relax. I ruffled her hair playfully, a gorgeous, rich cinnamon orange that had earn her her nickname, laughing at her mock scowl at me. 

We waved toward a small group of people approaching before jogging towards them. Instantly, we were absorbed into a tangle of limbs, everyone wrapping their arms around each other. Predictably, I ended up in the middle, head and shoulders above the rest of my bezzies. They hadn’t been nicknamed my munchkins for no reason.

\---

I lay on the grass, stretched out between Ellie and Mimi. My fingers were tangled in Ellie’s as we basked in the rare english sunshine. Ellie had been the first person I’d met when I’d moved primary schools, and aside from the occasional spat we’d been inseparable. Mimi and I had been roommates in our first year at uni, and we’d quickly become friends. Our hair mingled in the grass, three distinct tones of brown swirling into each other.

We chatted easily to each other, our eight voices rising and swirling around each other, intersped with giggles and snatched of songs. We were all music mad, and none of us were particularly bad singers. Eventually, Col burst into song. She jumped to her feet, pulling me up with her, her long blonde hair swinging everywhere. “I hopped off the plane at L.A.X. With a dream and my cardigan” I recognised the song, and quickly began to improvise a harmony. “Welcome to the land of fame excess, am I gonna fit in?” We pulled Alice to her feet, closely followed by Sarah. They joined in, slowly building up layers of notes until everyone was on their feet in a circle, hands clapping to the beat, lyrics interwoven until we had made a glorious mash up of music. As the last notes dropped off, Sarah made one of her usual one liners. 

“Well, I guess that’s what watching Pitch Perfect does to you.”

As we settled back down onto the grass again, giggling, Squish pulled me down in front of her. She gently began to fiddle with my hair, sweeping it up onto the crown of my head and separating it into small sections, twisting it into small plaits and coiling strands round her fingers. We’d met in the rowing team and the sense of comradeship and team teamwork had caused a firm friendship to form. I longed to mess with her hair in return, but when Squish is halfway through a style, you don’t want to move incase you mess it up. 

Squish is incredibly talented with hair. She’d done us all for a midwinter dance and we’d all looked wonderful. She had the most incredible hair, glossy, thick, black and smooth and it never seems to tangle, probably because most of the time she wears it in a simple braid straight down her back. It should be a crime that she doesn’t wear it down often.

I beckoned for Alice to come and sit next to me. I’d met her in the library and we’d quickly made it a regular thing. Alice is freakily intelligent, almost like a walking encyclopedia and her hair is simply fabulous. It’s relatively short, around shoulder length and really curley. Her hair tends to form an adorable mini afro and its fun to just lightly tug a curl and watch it spring back into shape. 

Alice is also an incredible singer. She’s the main soloist in choir and she can hit any note in a soprano stave, and can hold it for as long as is needed, a skill I greatly admire. Whenever I hit high notes, I can only last for a few bars before needing a breath, but Alice had been known to go for over 11 bars without a break.

Once Squish had finished doing my hair into a half-up-half-down style with fishtail braids, I swapped places with Sarah. She and I had similar hair. Long, thick and slightly wavy, but while her curls resembled ringlets, mine had more of a beach babe kink to them. I loved her hair, and she loved mine. It was a running joke between us that we should trade.

I was laughing with her, before squealing sharply. I squeak was joined by seven other screams. Where as 5 seconds ago we’d been warm and clean, we were now all cold and covered in bright yellow paint. I glared at Andoni, who was holding a bucket, before extending my hand to him. He pulled me to my feet as his friends pulled the rest of the girls up. I’d completely forgotten about the tradition of our uni. On the last day, it was traditional to have a paint war. I grinned as Andoni tossed me a few balloons filled with some paint.

Let the games begin.


	2. The Interview

I walked home quickly. Not quite running, but close. I was a little later than I'd've liked to be, as I had a job interview in an hour. I got more than a few double takes when people saw me, not that I could blame them. My hair was streaked with yellow, orange, green and red paint. My clothes were in a similar state. I looked like I’d been tiedyed, head to toe. To be honest, everybody that had straggled out of the gate had. We were all tired and dirty. The match, consisting of over 500 people, had lasted for hours. No one had been seriously injured this time, but we were all sporting a few bruises. I had a spectacular one forming one my left wrist where I’d fallen over a bin trying to catch Col, and instead had been pelted by Squish who had found were most of the paintballs were being stored. Normally they were released in waved throughout the game, but not this time.

Squish and I had quickly teamed up, slowly enlisting more people into a team, until the last match had been a battle between our team and Ellie and Alice’s. We’d eventually been kicked out by the headmaster himself. Several people had accidentally got him by accident, but he’d laughed at the bright splashes of paint, taking it all in good humour. He’d informed us it was due to start raining soon so we should probably start going home. A few groups of people decided to stay for a little longer to use up the few balloons that were left, but most of us had just began to leave the premises. Mr. Myers had gotten more than a few hugs as we’d all walked out, leaving his normally immaculate suit covered in multi coloured handprints.

I got into my flat as quickly as possible. “Hey Meg!”

“Hey, Carrie.” 

Carrie came out our lounge and took a good look at me. “You look like you've just lost a paintball match against the rest of England.” I grinned at her. Carrie is, hand down, the best flat mate you could ever have. She’s a natural comedian, so its rare you're in a room with her for longer than a minute without laughing at something she’s said. She shoved me into the shower with the promise that she’d deal with my clothes.

I washed slowly in the shower, scrubbing all traces of paint from my body. It was easy enough to get off with the application of soap and some elbow grease. It was harder to get all the gunk out of my hair, but I persevered until I was squeaky clean. I dressed quickly. For some reason, I’d been asked to wear a plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark trousers for my interview, with my hair down. I was nervous as I dried my hair. I’d always wanted to act professionally, but I’d always assumed that I’d work in theaters, so I was nervous for my first screen test.

I’d been shocked when I’d gotten a letter asking me if I would audition for the part of Mrs. Hudson’s granddaughter. The mail had detailed it would be a small part, with a relatively low pay, and that looks would be key. I’d been unsure about that, but my agent had accepted for me, with the words, “If you actually looked at yourself in the mirror, you would realise how pretty you actually are.”

As I left the flat, Carried gave me a warm, vanilla scented hug. She grinned at me. “Don’t worry, you’ll ace it!” I tried for a smile in return, but I was sure it looked more like a grimace.

I began to walk towards the studio I’d been told to go to. It was close to my house, and it was easier to walk than battle the rush hour traffic. On my way, Andoni and his group passed me. I was quickly surrounded and mobbed before they ran off. I was a more than a little irritated with them. I’d been left with fluorescent handprints all over my torso and had some new streaks in my hair. I didn’t have enough time to get washed and changed again, so I decided to explain to whoever was interviewing me what had happened. Hopefully, they’d understand my dilemma and wouldn’t get too mad.

\---

I entered the building with 10 minutes left to spare, and was ushered into a small room with three other women. We were all around the same age, with similar features. All of them were beautiful, and I began to feel self conscious. The fact that they were all staring at my clothes made my cheeks burn. It wasn’t my fault how a group of boys had reacted. How dare they judge me on what I looked like!

My name was called, and I swallowed down my butterflies. I heard sniggers as I left the room. As I walked through, following the secretary, I was shocked. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat were sat on a sofa in a beautiful lounge, a plush armchair opposite them. They smiled at me as I walked in, but I swear I saw a look of dismay cross their faces as they took in my appearance. Mark cleared his throat before asking “Are you Magdalene Edmona Garrington?”

“Yes.” I hated it when strangers said my name.

“Would you like to take a seat?”

I smiled at them, abashed. “I’m not sure if that’s the best idea. I’m covered in paint and I’d hate to wreck your furniture.”

Steven smiled at me. “You’re probably aware that this is being recorded. We’ve got a camera trained on the seat. Would you mind sitting on a bit of sheeting on it?”

“Yeah, that’d be fine.” Someone bought in a piece of blue tarp, so I sat on it. “I’m sorry about all of this.” I gestured to the fluorescent patterns on me. “I got mobbed on my way here.”

Mark and Steven just laughed gently before asking me many questions, starting with questions about why I’d gotten into this state, before asking me about other uni traditions I was aware of. They peppered me with seemingly random questions after that, like asking me to tell a favorite joke or a quote I tried to live my life by. I answered as much as possible, before they stopped with the questions to ask me if I minded leaving the room for a minute. I complied.

\---

When I was bought back in, they looked me seriously in the eye. Mark broke the news to me. “We’re very sorry, but we don’t think you are suited to the role of Mrs. Hudson’s granddaughter. You just look wrong for the part. However, there are other roles you may be able to play. We’ll get in touch with your agent.” I smiled and thanked them, holding tears back by sheer force of will alone. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. I suppose after hearing my agent go on about how it was simply impossible for me not to land the role, I’d unconsciously let myself believe that I was going to play the part. I’d known I’d been too tall (by about a foot) for the role, but I’d honestly though it wouldn’t matter that much. As the door swung shut behind me, I heard Mark saying something like, “How are we going to break the news to her?” I strode through the small room full of the other possibles for the role, determined not to break down in front of them. I left the building as quickly as was humanly possible.

I ran home and launched myself onto my bed, breaking into large, gasping sobs that wracked my whole body. Carrie came in and held me until I cried myself to sleep.


	3. Switching Roles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Ben POV. Hope you enjoy!

It was the end of what had been a long day so I was was surprised when, at about 7.30 in the evening, I got a message from Mark. It read, ‘Come to Studio B. Urgent!’

I sighed, before getting onto my bike and driving off quickly. I was tired and nervous about what Mark was up to. He’s not really one for getting people to come in so late at night, so I assumed this meant something major was about to happen.

I walked into Studio B and found Amanda, Martin, Rupert and Una sitting in the foyer. I quickly assumed it was something to do with someone new being considered for a role. They were introducing a few major and several minor characters for the newest season, and every time they chose a new role they got us all in to watch the candidate’s interview. 

Mark and Stephen called us in. “We think we’ve made a mistake in our casting.” I was surprised at that. Stephen normally great at picking out actors. I’ve never known him to make a mistake. “We wanted you to watch someone’s interview and tell us if you think she’d be better than Zooey Deschanel. If you think you could work well with her.” Now I was shocked. The two of them were considering recasting a major part less than a week before we had our readthrough.

Mark took over “We’ll play her interview now. Tell us what you think at the end.”

To my surprise it started off with an empty chair. I shared a puzzled glance with Martin. Usually when we got shown interviews they get cut to where the person is already sitting in the armchair. 

I could hear Mark clearing his throat. “Are you Magdalene Edmona Garrington?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to take a seat?”

The voice that came through the speakers was smooth and lilting, and had almost a tone of embarrassment in it.“I’m not sure if that’s the best idea. I’m covered in paint and I’d hate to wreck your furniture.” I was confused. Why was she, whoever she was, covered in paint?

We could hear Stephen’s amusement “You’re probably aware that this is being recorded. We’ve got a camera trained on the seat. Would you mind sitting on a bit of sheeting on it?”

“Yeah, that’d be fine.” The video now skipped forwards to a young woman sitting in the chair. It was hard to see her face as she said “I’m sorry about all of this.” Gesturing to many handprints on her body. “I got mobbed on my way here.”

Mark and Steven just laughed and begun asking her many questions but I tuned it all out the second I saw her properly. She was smiling ruefully, looking up while she pushed her hair out of her face. I inhaled sharply. She was beautiful.

She had long, dark hair that hung loosely over her shoulders, falling down to her waist, a smile full of infectious happiness and bright green eyes that shone with a barely concealed mirth. She was the personification of happiness and she seemed to glow with it, like she’d taken a shower in liquid laughter.

She was covered in paint, but she didn’t seem too bothered by that. Her clothes had several handprints on them and her hair was streaked with pink and yellow. Despite that, she seemed comfortable in her own skin. I knew instantly that I’d like to meet this girl.The seven of us watched her full interview, which was about 20 minutes long. 

Her joke was actually funny, a rarity in interviews. I know mine hadn’t. I’d done a “why did the chicken cross the road”. She’d barely stopped to think when she came out with, “What’s the difference between a piano, a can of tuna and some glue?”

This was answered with an “I don’t know”

“You can tuna piano, but you can’t piano a tuna.”

“What about the glue?” Mark had asked.

She grinned wickedly. “I knew you’d get stuck there.”

Her quote had been good to. “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid. I think that was Albert Einstein.”

“Do you ever think of this quote when you are doing things?”

“Mainly when I watch Guinness World Records. Some of the things that people do on their are incredible, but strange. It just goes to show that if you use your imagination, you can be the best at literally anything, even if it is belly flopping into a pool of crumpets!” We all laughed at that.

However, when she got told that she hadn’t got the part she’d auditioned for, the change was instant. The light in her eyes dimmed, and though her smile stayed up, it’d lost it’s carefree curve. It was horrible, watching this girl who’d been so happy suddenly collapse on the inside until she was literally a shell of what she’d been seconds ago. It was easy to see the tears she was holding back brimming up. No, it was worse than horrible. It was heartbreaking.

Once the tape was over, Mark and Stephen got a resounding “Yes!” to switching actors. I left pretty soon after that. Mark ran after me. “Hey, Ben.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to ring her agent tonight, and go and see her tomorrow to tell her she has the part. I think she deserves that after the rejection we gave her. I hadn’t meant for it to come out in that way. Will you come with me?”

“Of course.”


	4. OMG!

I woke up groggy and unable to see much. My eyes were puffy and sore, probably from all the crying I’d been doing. There was a small imprint on the bed where Carrie had been last night. It was still slightly warm, so she must have dropped off at about the same time I had. I made a mental note to say thank you to her, then stumbled into the shower.

My hair was now a matted mess of bright colours. I turned the heat up and picked up a bottle of shampoo with resignation. It took forever to get the dried gunk out of my hair, but as I slowly cleaned off I began to feel better. 

I stepped out of the shower and dried quickly, checking my hair in the mirror to see if there was any small streaks of paint I’d missed. I couldn’t see any, so I wrapped myself in my towel and ran to my room, grabbing a clean pair of shorts and a hoodie. I had nothing to do today, and besides, they were comfortable. I dressed quickly before walking to the kitchen. Carrie was sitting at the table, her dog in her lap.

“Morning”

“Hey. I’ve cooked breakfast. Do you want some?”

“Please” Carrie stood to retrieved a plate of something out of the oven, chiving me into a seat as she passed me. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for last night. You score phenomenally high in the kind-o-meter.” I grinned at the sceptical glance Carrie was giving me as she grabbed the oven gloves. “Seriously, I checked.”

Carrie’s dog, Sam, padded over to me. “Good morning to you too!” I picked him up and got a sloppy kiss on the cheek. When I’d first moved in with Carrie, I’d been shocked. Both of my parent are Lord of The Rings fans, and we had a menagerie of animals back home, all named after various characters from the books. 

Because of this, when I’d first heard Sam’s name, I’d instantly thought of Samwise Gamgee. The fact the yorkie was actually named after an aunt didn’t change the fact that whenever I looked at him, I instantly though ‘Hobbit!’

Carrie stuck a steaming plate of scrambled egg in front of me with an “Eat up!” I did, loading food onto my fork and chewing quickly. I hadn’t eaten for over a day. I’d had to get up early yesterday, at about half six, so I’d grabbed a banana to eat on the walk to uni. The paint war had overruled the need for lunch, the paint splattered sandwiches that had been in my bag were discarded. I’d been too nervous to eat before my interview and too upset afterwards.

My body was literally screaming “FOOD!” as I emptied my plate in record time, before taking to the sink and washing it. I stuck it on the drying rack and went to dry my hair. 

Sam came in after a few minutes, demanding to be petted. I sat down with him for a while, tickling and stroking until he was content. As he wandered out of my room, tail wagging forcefully, I turned my hairdryer back on.

I finished my hair, then grabbed a book at random and began to read. My bookshelf was full of books I’d read several times over. Despite the fact I now knew all the plotlines by heart, I still read them with happiness. Most of my books were falling to pieces, all dog eared and bent, but every blemish on them, to me, was a memory another time reading the same story.

Carrie pulled me out of wonderland eventually. “Someone here to see you”

“Who?”

“Someone you’ll want to see very much. Shall I buzz him up?”

I guessed she meant it was Andoni again. There had been a gleeful note behind her words, one that normally turned up when he was around. She’d been teasing me for weeks about him, ever since he’d asked me out. I’d declined, but since then he’d been casually popping over for help with coursework or a new set of revision notes. “Fine.”

If he’d decided to walk all the way here, I couldn’t exactly turn him away at the door, though I wondered what he’d want this time, maybe a celebratory movie. He’d been talking about it yesterday to me. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and drag me onto the back row.

I walked into the hall as I heard Carrie opening the door. I was not expecting Mark Gatiss to walk in, followed by Benedict Cumberbatch. I felt my mouth drop open in shock. What were they doing here? They’de pretty much told me yesterday they didn’t want me.

“Miss Garrington, I think we need to have a word.” That didn’t sound good. What had I done? Mark took me into the lounge while I left Carrie standing there with Benedict. She gave me a not-so-discrete thumbs up, to which I replied with a ‘nervous’ face, big eyes and a terrified expression. She giggled at me as I realised Ben was watching, smiling a little at me. I felt myself flush as I made eye contact, before quickly exiting the room.

\---

I was officially freaking out. I’d just been asked to play a major role in Sherlock, and I hadn’t even auditioned for it. I was buzzing, bubbles of laughter welling up, threatening to burst out. Mark gave me a hug as I stood there, half in shock at what he’d just told me.

Once he’d broken the news, he left quickly, alone. I ran into the kitchen and tackled Carrie with a bear hug. “You’re never going to believe this! Mark just offered me a job! A proper one! In Sherlock!” I began jumping up and down, pulling her with me. She hopped with me, her arms tight around my waist.

“Well done! I told you you’d ace it!”

“Thank you so much! Thank you for everything.” I think I was starting to go a little hyper, so I made a conscious decision to calm down. I slowly let go of Carrie, still beaming. 

I was not expecting to see someone standing in the corner of our kitchen. I think it was understandable that I shrieked and fell over. Ben laughed at me, before approaching and extending his hand. I took it and allowed him to pull me too my feet. He was smiling at me, his grin infectious. I grinned back at him. “I’d best be going now. It seems Mark has forgotten me. Thank you for the tea.” I am not joking when I say his voice is the most amazing thing I have ever heard. It resonated through the flat, giving me little rumbles in my chest. I squeaked a little as he pulled me into a hug. “Well done on getting the part.”

“Thank you so much!” I felt myself beginning to turn red as Carrie let him out of the door. “Bye!”

“Bye.”

I looked Carrie in the eye as we both began fangirling at the exact same time.


	5. Hot Chocolate

I was panicking as I checked the letter Mark had handed me yesterday as he walked out. “It definitely says 11:30 on here.”

Carrie ran over and peered at it. “But he’s outside now, waiting. Do I buzz him up or not?”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Buzz him up, but distract him while I get changed. Please?”

We shared a grin. “Wear your jeans and the tank I got you for Christmas.” I pulled Carrie into a hug.

“What would I do without you?”

“You’re never going to find out.” I smiled to myself as I ran to get changed. When I’d read the paperwork I’d been given by Mark, a small handwritten note had fallen out. It detailed the next six days of my life in the runup to the beginning of shooting. Today, I was due to be spending time with Ben to help ‘unlock’ the character of his sister and their relationship. To be honest, at the moment I didn’t care about what I was meant to be doing today, I was spending time with my favorite actor. I didn’t even want to think about what some girls would do to be in my position.

I began yanking off my pj’s and squeezed into my purple jeans. With my budget, I hadn’t been able to buy any new ones, but they still fitted pretty well. I grabbed the black tank top Carrie had mentioned and pulled it on. I felt a little underdressed, especially as the sunshine forecasted today kept slipping into light showers. I caved in and grabbed one of Benji’s old rugby shirts, a pastel pink one that he’d worn once before I’d ‘stolen’ it. To be honest, I think he’d been quite happy to have an excuse not to wear it again.

I ran back into the hall, shoving on a pair of flats as I went. I had a bobble round my wrist instead of jewelry and my bag on my shoulder instead of a clutch. Carrie sighed at my choice of weather insurance and accessories, but let it slide. I’d rather be comfortable and not look perfect than be fake and end up limping in heels.

Ben was lounging by the door. “Hey”

“Hey, ready to go?”

“Yep. Bye Carrie!” Carrie just handed me a tube of lip balm with a little grin. I wrinkled my nose up at her, making her giggle a little, before following Ben out into the street.

\---

We ended up in a little cafe, a small discreet place sandwiched between Topshop and McDonald’s. I’d never noticed it before and wondered why not. I was compact, with a huge variety of chairs. There was a wall long bookcase, with a sign reading, ‘If you don’t finish your book while you're here, just bring it back next time!’ Ben and I sat down at a table with two squashy armchairs by it. I couldn’t stop giggling as I sat down and sunk, until it was hard to get back out of the cushions. Ben was in a similar situation opposite me. I grinned at him, squirming into a more comfortable position. He responded to my smile, his face creasing in an effortless grin. We ordered hot chocolate with whipped cream, and then began to talk.

It started off with Ben showing me different ways to express myself with simply my eyes. I was pretty good at that, and we began to have a stare off, him projecting one emotion after another with me trying as hard as possible to reciprocate the look before he moved on. It was when he tried a hostile stare that it all went to pieces. He glared at me, and I responded with a look that my friends had described as a wolf glare. It said, ‘however bad you think you are, I’m worse’. I could feel myself cracking up even as I projected hostility, and when Ben didn’t change expression I burst out laughing. “Sorry!” I gasped. I have a problem that I can’t do evil stares without laughing almost immediately afterwards, probably because I feel strange glaring at people. My mum reckons I was born smiling.

“It’s OK, I used to that too.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, try thinking about fruit or something random so you don’t start laughing.” We tried again, and for a strange reason, banana peels helped me keep my cool.

Our drinks arrived and I look a quick sip to check the temperature. It was too hot to drink comfortably, so I put it back down. Ben grinned at me as I looked at him, puzzled. He grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at the end on my nose gently. “You had a little cream, just there.” He flicked the end of my nose softly, then took a gulp of his drink.

When he looked at me, I motioned to my nose. He had a small peak of white on his. He wiped with his handkerchief, but missed a substantial amount. I plucked it from his hand and leaned forwards to tidy him up. “Now you’re perfect!” He smiled at me, almost… shyly… as he caught my gaze and held it. I slowly felt the tension drain out of my body as I sunk into the blue-green depths pool of his eyes.

Our peace was disturbed as the waiter fell over behind the counter, knocking over a stack of glasses. He got a goodnatured cheer from the rest of the cafe as he slowly turned red.

Ben decided to do some impressions after that. We played a game, one person said someone and the other had to do an impression. “Ladies first.”

“Alan Rickman” 

“Dobby”

“Hagrid”

“McGonagall”

“Gollum” Ben open his mouth, made a small ‘gollum, gollum’, and fell about laughing. 

“God, that was bad. Try doing...me”

Oh God. I tried to lower my voice to a seductive growl, but it came out as a high pitched squeak. Ben looked at me in mock horror. “Do I really sound that bad?” I giggled nervously, then had a full blown laughing fit.. I could see Ben opposite me, his head thrown back as he gasped for air. All eye contact was avoided as we slowly wound down from our giggle fits. The rest of the cafe was looking at us like we were mad.

\---

Ben walked me home, hugging me as we parted ways. I was smiling to myself as I walked into the flat. Carrie came out of the lounge, sat me down at the kitchen table and we immediately began dissecting every single thing that had happened that day. As I lay in bed afterwards, hoped Ben had had as good a day as I had, wondering idly if he was thinking of me as I thought of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The choice is yours! Would you rather have a Ben POV of the date or just go onto the next day?


	6. Like a Splinter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Ben POV! Hope you enjoy!!!

I stood at the door of the flat, nervously rubbing my hands together. Over the intercom, I could hear Meg’s voice, full of panic. “It definitely says 11:30 on here.” Mark had told me to arrive at the flat at 10:30, obviously assuming I’d be late and so had given Meg a later time. I laughed to myself at his intelligence, but it was a little awkward to be an hour early.

Her flatmate’s voice came out of the speaker, louder and more distinct. She must be the one by the door. “But he’s outside now, waiting. Do I buzz him up or not?” She obviously didn’t realise she was pushing down on the ‘talk’ button and that I could hear her everything going on inside.

“Buzz him up, but distract him while I get changed. Please?” I almost facepalmed. Meg had probably just gotten up. I was now peeved off at Mark. Why couldn’t he have just put a note that I’d probably be late. He always over thinks things.

“Wear your jeans and the tank I got you for Christmas.” This was said with an air of someone who knew a lot about fashion.

“What would I do without you?” Meg’s voice was full of relief at the fashion advice, almost like she wasn’t used to going out with people. Not, I reminded myself, that this was a date. It was a professional cup of coffee and a chat about acting.

“You’re never going to find out.” I smiled at that, but was slightly worried too. If I wanted to get to know Meg the way I wanted too, I’d have to get past her flatmate first.

When I was buzzed up, I leant against the wall, mentally running through my lines as I tuned out of a conversation from Carrie about, of all things, her brother's sex change operation and the fact she now she has a sister. It was the sort of one sided conversation that only needed the occasional “mmm” or “yeah”, so I let Carrie bubble along in the background while I tried to remember a particularly fiendish deduction Steven had written.

“Hey!” Meg’s appearance in the hall took me by surprise.

“Hey, ready to go?” I grinned at her, for once not caring that I couldn’t remember the rest of my lines. She looked seriously nice, a pair of plum jeans and a faded pink rugby top. I wished I’d tried a little harder with my clothes, but I hadn’t wanted to wear a suit and make our meeting formal. I had just put on a t-shirt and a clean pair of trousers and hoped for the best.

“Yep. Bye Carrie!” I pretended not to notice the lip balm Carre gave to Meg, instead memorizing the way she wrinkled her nose up. It was refreshing to find someone who wasn’t going to try to jump me and get a pledge of marriage from the word go.

I lead Meg into the street and we walked, side by side, to a little cafe I knew. I’d though Meg would like it. It did nice drinks, had a comfortable atmosphere and was unknown enough that the likelihood of being approached by a fan was low.

As we walked, the sun came out. Meg stripped off her rugby shirt, revealing a black tanktop with, ‘Barbie’s evil little sister’ in bright pink. “I like your top.”

Meg smiled at me. “Thanks. Carrie got it for me. It’s a running joke between us.”

I decided to ask a question I’d had on the tip of my tongue since I’d first seen her over shirt. “Who got you the rugby top?” It would, hopefully, give me an idea of if she had a boyfriend. There’s nothing wrong with planning ahead.

“I stole it off Benji.” Meg admitted with a grin.

“Your boyfriend?” Damn it!

“No. My gay best friend! What would make you think I had a boyfriend?”

I was momentarily stumped for words. "I feel stupid saying this, because you probably heard it a million times, but you're beautiful. Why wouldn’t you have a boyfriend?" I smiled at her, but she was avoiding my gaze, instead staring down at the pavement. I angled my head, glad for our similar heights, until she met my eyes. She gave me a shy smile as her cheeks flamed red.

 

I decided to change the subject quickly as Meg was beginning to look uncomfortable at the compliment. “If you were a pirate, would you like a parrot on this shoulder or this one?” I quickly tapped her left shoulder, before slinging my arm about her right shoulder and giving her a little squeeze. I dropped my arm quickly so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. I smiled a little as her fingers threaded with mine, giving my hand a little squeeze in return.

We entered the shop and sat down at a table. We had a bit of a chair fiasco. I’d forgotten how squishy they were. It ended up with us both slumped comfortably in our chairs, grinning at each other.

When I asked her what she’d like to drink, I was surprised when she asked for hot chocolate. “Why? It’s boiling outside!”

“Simple biology! Homeostasis. If you raise your core body temperature, your body activates a cooling process and at the end of it you’re cooler.” I grinned at her as I ordered two hot chocolates. 

I began a game of expression matchup, something I’d played myself back at stage school. We ran through basic emotions, which Meg seemed pretty good at. To be honest I was just enjoying the chance to stare into her eyes without seeming creepy. When we got to hate, I saw her begin to crack up, so I kept the expression up. I bit the inside of my cheek while thinking furiously of cherries. She began to laugh almost immediately.“Sorry!”

“It’s OK, I used to that too.” Still do, more than occasionally.

“You did?”

“Yeah, try thinking about fruit or something random so you don’t start laughing.” It was an incredibly useful thing to do, which could be used to keep up any expression.

Our drinks arrived and Meg look a quick sip . I couldn’t help smiling when I noticed that she had a blob of cream on the end of her nose. I grabbed my handkerchief and wiped the cream off quickly. It was something a friend would do, right? “You had a little cream, just there.”I flicked her nose softly, if only to make her giggle then had a gulp of my drink, making sure to get cream on my nose.

When Meg motioned to me that I had some cream on my nose, I wiped my face, deliberately missing most of the cream. Meg grabbed my hankie and dabbed at my face. “Now you’re perfect!” I smiled at her once I was tidy, allowing a little of my emotion into the gaze. Meg held my gaze, and I was surprised to see her eyes were a rich chocolate brown framed with thick lashes. I could've sworn they’de been bright green yesterday.

The waiter dropped a stack of glasses, causing Meg to jump. We gave him a good natured round of applause as he slowly blushed. I suddenly remembered a game Martin and I played a lot. Impressions. You said someone and you had to do an impression straight away. I quickly explained the game to Meg. “Ladies first.”

“Alan Rickman” I should've know Snape would be the first impression. I curled my lip and began to talk in his silky, nasal tones as Meg started to laugh.

“Dobby” Meg launched into a little speech about slamming her hands in the oven while holding her hands out from her head as ears.

“Hagrid” Oh God. I pushed my voice down to a lower register, then injected warmth and a touch of village idiot. In retaliation...

“McGonagall” Meg meowed at me. I looked her in the eye as she meowed again, then burst out laughing.

“Gollum” I tried a ‘gollum, gollum’. It tickled my vocal chords and I ended up laughing helplessly after one word. 

“God, that was bad.” I decided to give Meg a challenge. “Try doing...me”

Meg’s eyes screwed shut as she began to talk. Her voice started very low, then suddenly rocketed up in pitch to a high pitched squeak. I looked at her in mock horror. Her face had an expression of surprise on it. “Do I really sound that bad?” Meg began to giggle. I threw my head back without reserve and chuckled along next to her. So what if most of the cafe was staring at us? It wasn’t illegal to have fun.

\---

I walked Meg home and hugged her as I departed before zooming off on the bike. I was looking forwards to spending more time with her tomorrow. As I sat in bed, trying to learn my lines, I kept getting distracted by the way Meg had blushed when I’d told her she was beautiful, the way she’d smiled at me after my gollum impression, everything she’d done today. She had worked her way into my thoughts like a splinter, and getting her back out was going to be a hard task indeed.


	7. Sven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This gets a little serious, so I might rewrite this chapter. Please let me know if I should keep it or not. One of my friends was recently molested, a lot worse than this, but they asked me to write this to raise awareness. This is pretty mild, but I just thought I'd warn you.
> 
> Lots of people go through this, and it's NOT YOUR FAULT. If this has happened to you, don't be afraid to get help.

Sam woke me up in the morning. I unwillingly pulled myself from the syrupy embrace of sleep as he sat on my head. “Ow! Dammit! Getoff!” He responded with a high pitched bark before jumping from my face. I rolled out of bed, shivering a little in the relative cold. I jumped into the shower and washed carefully, then shaved. I’d been told I was having a costume fitting today, so I didn’t want to look like a relative of the abominable snowman.

I padded into the kitchen and put the kettle on, then brewed some coffee. When it was done, I put sugar in them both, then walked into Carrie’s room. “Morning!” Carrie had an epic bedhead. She peered at me through glazed eyes.

“Morning...” She was half asleep.

“I’ve made coffee. You’d better get up before it turns into gloop.”

“Why would it do that?”

“All the sugar you put into it. It’ll make it go gloopy.” Carrie managed a smile. She did put ridiculous amounts of sugar in her coffee. I’d often told her she didn’t need to try and break the world record for most sugar cubes dissolved in a single cuppa. It was a running joke. To be honest, she does need the energy though. She’s an ICU nurse, and she’s on her feet all day.

I walked back to the kitchen, and made sure the coffee smell was wafting towards her bedroom door. After a few minutes, I could hear her grumbling to herself as she got up. I grinned to myself and began to boil some eggs.

\---

Ben arrived promptly today. The first we heard of him was a harsh grumbling of a motorbike, out of place on the normally empty road outside our flat. I walked to meet him at the door, waving goodbye to Carrie as we left. “Hey!”

‘Hey!”

Ben strapped a helmet on my head, then tossed me a pair of gloves. “Ever ridden a bike before?” I shook my head. “I’ll get you on first then. Hold onto me and stay still and we should be fine.” He smiled at me and lifted me into the air, placing my lightly down into the seat, then hopped on in front of me. I rested my hands on his hips. I was determined not to be scared.

That all went out of the window the second he put his foot down. My arms went round his torso tightly and I tucked my head into his back. My body automatically pressed into his, melding to him. I could feel every breath that he took as we rode into central London.

\---

We entered the tailors. Mark and Rupert were also there. We said hello, then all sat down in a row, waiting to be called in. Mark and Ben needed new ‘posh’ suits and their old ones refitting to give them the perfect fitted Holmes look while Rupert needed his loosening a little, to give the impression he’d lost weight from overworking. Martin, Amanda, Una and Louise wore their own clothes. They just needed to look well worn and be homely, not something you could get easily from anywhere.

The young man nodded us through a curtained doorway. Going through I found myself in a gigantic room filled with partially finished projects. The young man beckoned me over eagerly. He was pretty good looking, with longish, dark hair and a carefree smile. “Hey! You must be Meg! Steven told me about you getting the job! Congratulations! Glad to meet you. I’m Sven.”

Sven didn’t waste time. He pulled out a short plinth and made me get on it after making me strip down to my underwear. “Okay ducky, I’m going to take all kinds of measurements. Don’t panic, OK?” He had a clipboard and a tape measure. Setting to work I was measured in every possible way, my measurements cross referenced against a list of someone elses. All the men stayed in the room, but adverted their eyes for the most part. Rupert had definitely checked what Sven was doing more than once while Ben was glaring at Sven, who seemed to find every excuse to run his fingers along my body, down an arm or across my stomach, caressing me in an overly familiar way. I was determined not to make a scene, but vowed to bring Carrie next time. She’d set him straight for me.

Once he’d done, I was taken through to another room, where two items were waiting for me. Mark insisted I wore a blindfold, so I wouldn’t know what the garments would look like until they were finished. The first thing I stepped into was a catsuit. A little big around the waist and a little short at the ankles. I could feel the material being repinned until it fitted like a glove. Then a blazer was added and fitted.

I was quickly helped into a dress once the other clothes had been removed. It really was awkward trying to get changed while standing on one leg on a stool blindfolded. I have balance problems on flat ground with unimpaired vision. It was quite a challenge. Fortunately, the men I was with were all gentlemen, and there was a hand waiting whenever I needed some extra support. I tried to ignore Sven’s wandering hands. It may have been a little loose at the bust, but really! He was meant to be a professional! I was slowly getting upset, but the fitting needed to happen. I tried to distance myself from what was happening.

Once again, the dress was fitted. I could feel the smooth rustle of silk against my calves, and from the weight of it could tell it was layered, but I had no idea what it looked like. As I stepped out of it, I overstepped and placed my foot down into thin air.

All of a sudden, I was pitching forwards into thin air. I gasped sharply with the shock, expecting to hit solid ground. It was pitch black inside the blindfold, and somehow, not knowing when I was going to impact was terrifying. I tensed, waiting for the bright stab of pain…

A warm hand grabbed my waist and I landed squarely in a pair of strong arms. I was cradled against a chest as my blindfold was gently, but quickly, removed. I blinked against the sudden light. Ben had caught me and was holding me in an embrace that was fiercely protective. I leant into his warmth, disappointed when he set me on my feet and moved back a little. Instantly I came out into goosebumps. Ben moved back to my side quickly as I stood there shivering, wrapping his arm around me. Mark ran out to fetch my clothes. Sven had disappeared along with the dress.

Once I was dressed, Ben had his suit refitted, and measurements taken for a new one. It didn’t take long, and I begun to wonder why it had taken Sven so long to do me. Obviously, he wasn’t trying to covertly touch up Ben. The fact that everytime he touched him Ben looked like he was going to punch him possibly helped too.

\---

Ben took me out of the shop the second he was done, leaving Rupert and Mark inside. He dragged me to stand by a tree, then cupped my face with his hands. “Are you OK?” He asked urgently. “How much did he touch?” He seriously looked like he could murder someone.

“Hey, it’s OK.” I tried to calm him, speaking to him like I’d speak to a horse that had just spooked. “I’m fine.” I tried for a grin and managed to dredge one up, shaking inside in quite fury at Sven.

Ben peered into my eyes “You’re not OK.” He pulled me closer, breath ghosting down the side of my face. “How do you feel?” He slipped his arms around my waist and held me, just being their for me if I wanted to talk.

I buried my face in his neck, inhaling his bitter sweet scent of tobacco, wool and musk. His arms tighten around me a little, denying that they will ever, ever let go. I found that there were tears trickling down my cheeks and soaking into his jumper. “I just… I feel so… dirty” I choked out. It wasn’t that Sven had touched anywhere important, but I could still feel his hands caressing my arms, almost like he had a right to. 

“My house is literally two minutes away. If you want you can shower.” I looked at Ben through my eyelashes.

“Thank you.”

\---

Ben biked me home afterwards and walked me to the door. He gently pressed a kiss to my head as he walked away slowly. “Thank you so much.” I whispered to him. He’d comforted me until I could almost forget the way Sven had looked at me, supplied me with flannels so I could scrub away the ghost fingers trailing along my skin, teased me with tidbits of food until I finally laughed. I slipped into sleep slowly. My last memory was of Ben slowly tracing his hands down my body, eliminating the paths Sven had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for sticking with me! Every comment and kudos helps!
> 
> l love you all! If I could I'd give you all a big hug. Feel free to hug the monitor back!
> 
> xxx


	8. After Sven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Ben POV, hope you enjoy! If anyone has any ideas for what I should call this chapter, please comment below!

The second Meg’s fitting had finished I pulled her out of the shop, leaving Rupert and Mark inside. I went over to a tree of offer us a little privacy, then cupped her face with my hands. “Are you OK?” I was livid. “How much did he touch?” Probably not the most elegant way of asking, but I needed to know.

“Hey, it’s OK. I’m fine.” Meg spoke to me incredibly calmly. I couldn’t believe it. She’d just been molested, for Christ’s sake and she was calm. As I watched, she smiled at me, an almost natural smile, except for the lack of warmth in her eyes. They were filled with a bleak emptiness, and... shame?

“You’re not OK.” I pulled her to my chest, offering comfort and a shoulder to cry on. 

She buried her face in my neck as I tightened around my arms around her, if only to stop myself going back into the shop and murdering Sven. I could feel Meg’s shoulders shaking gently as tears trickled out of her eyes. After a few minutes of silence, she told me haltingly, “I just… I feel so… dirty”. I tried to put off all thoughts of revenge for the while. Meg needed someone with her at the minute, and I couldn’t be there for her if I was in jail.

“My house is literally two minutes away. If you want you can shower.” Meg rose her eyes to mine, her gaze meeting me though tears suspended on the end of her eyelashes. I could see her emotions rising in her, gratitude shining through.

“Thank you.”

I walked away from the tree, Meg’s hand in mine. I was shaking with barely suppressed anger at Sven. I was so tempted to punch someone’s face in, but I’d promised Meg a shower and I wasn’t one to back down from an oath.

We walked to my flat quickly and I opened the door swiftly. I let Meg in in front of me through the entrance, then shut the door. I lead her to the shower, turned it on so it could warm up and put a towel on the door. I also gave her a flannel and a bar of scented soap so she could scrub off the scent and touch memories.

As she showered, I switched on the TV simply to have something to do. The Wizard of Oz was in already, so I played it. I tried to forget my rage, but all I could remember was how Sven had looked at Meg just after I’d caught her. How when I’d stepped away from her his eyes had trailed over her greedily. I’d quickly stepped towards her again and obscured her from his view, glaring at him until he’d left the room. When Meg emerged from the bathroom (the door creaked), I got up to find her and bring her back to the lounge. I sat on the sofa, right at the side. This way she could have the choice of sitting next to me or sitting farther away. I didn’t want to force her into physical contact, not after what had just happened.

She sat down next to me, her body about a foot from mine. We watched the film for a little while. I leant forwards and grabbed a glass of juice after about half an hour. I’d put two on the table just after I’d put the film on. I replaced the glass after taking a sip, then leant back onto the sofa, stretching my arm along the back, well away from Meg’s shoulders.

I was surprised when she leant hesitantly into me. I hadn’t been trying anything, but she obviously needed the comfort. Her thigh and torso tucked snugly into me. I slowly wrapped my arm around her as she snuggled into me, her hand coming up to rest in the middle of my chest.

I lost interest in the film as I began to focus on her. I could feel every inch of her pressed to me, as if a mild electric current was passing between us, one that stimulated me to… NO! I told myself firmly. After what she’s just been through, no. A not-so-small part of me complained, but I tried to ignore it.

Meg lay in my arms peacefully as she watched the film. Almost without thinking, I trailed my fingers down her arm, along the stretch I knew Sven had touched. My hand was still moving when the film finished, a gentle way of showing my affection. I stopped and removed my arm as the credits came on. I gently pushed Meg off me and went into the kitchen. We hadn’t eaten lunch, so I looked in the fridge and grabbed a ready-to-eat platter. It was cold cuts, cheese and tiny pork pies. I found half a loaf of sliced bread and put that on the platter too, before making my way back to the lounge.

Meg was waiting for me, and as I got back onto the sofa she slid towards me again. I indicated towards the food as my stomach gave an enormous rumble. Meg looked at me, grabbed a pork pie and pushed it teasingly against my lips. I opened my mouth at the pressure and she popped it into my mouth. I was glad to see she no longer had the haunted look in her eye, but she wasn’t smiling either. I picked up a pork pie and began to move it towards her mouth. “You need to smile for this” Meg looked at me in disbelief, but gave a little smile. I rewarded her the tidbit, her teeth removing it gently from my fingers. Then next item also needed a smile, the one after that a joke and finally, a laugh. Eventually, even her eyes lost the haunted look and she once again looked like the girl I’d first met.

Once we’d eaten the whole plate, I took it back into the kitchen and returned to the lounge. Meg leaned back into me as I sat down and we talked about things of little importance, just filling the silence of the flat with comfortable, neutral ground. I found my hands had started to involuntary start to trace up and down her arm again, so I made a conscious decision to stop. “Please don’t stop.”

I began to stroke her arm again. “Why”

“It makes me forget him” How could I reply to that? I gently traced the lines he’d made, down her arms and across her abdomen. I could feel Meg slowly beginning to relax as I continue to stroke her. Strangely, it didn’t feel at all sexual. Normally, I’d be in bed with someone doing this, but this was Meg, and it was comforting both of us, helping her forget the abuse and gave me something I could actually do to help her.

Eventually, I had to take her home. We ran to the bike and got on, Meg once again tucking her head in close to my body. I walked her to the door of her flat, and held my arms out in an open invitation. Meg stepped closer and hugged me gently. I dropped a kiss onto her head, breathing her in. "Thank you so much" she breathed into my ear.I rode off eventually. Once I got home, I picked up my mobile and rang Rupert.

“Have you told Marcus what Sven did?”

“Yes. He’s been dismissed. Marcus was disgusted by what he did. He was fired on the spot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much! We've almost hit 1000 views!
> 
> To every commenter and kudo leaver, I LOVE YOU!!!! You keep me writing!
> 
> If you have anything you want in this story, leave a comment! My storyline's pretty flexible, so I can fit almost anything in for you!


	9. Violins, Guns and Knives

“BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” I groaned, pulling my pillow over my head. A lorry was backing up down our street. I cracked my eyes open a little, peering around my room as I snuggled back into my duvet. Sam was sitting on the floor by my bed, my alarm clock next to him, reading 6:28. I frowned a little, it was very light outside for early morning, then turned my eyes back on the item next to Sam. The alarm clock that was meant to wake me up at 7:30’s batteries were on the floor next to it.

Immediately all thoughts of sleep were driven from my mind as I jumped out of bed, fell over as my sheet tangled around my ankles then extracted myself from the offending bed linen. I ran into the kitchen to check the time, 8:35. I cursed at my bad luck, pulled on some clothes and a pair of shoes, grabbed a banana and ran out the door.

I’d been hoping to have a shower this morning, so I’d put my alarm clock on early. I’d have been out of the house now, after having eaten. I munched my banana as I jogged to Costa. I picked up a coffee-to-go, (much faster than brewing my own) and jogged to the bus stop. I jumped on just as it was pulling away, slapped my bus pass onto the sensor and slid into a seat. I caught a glance of my hair in the window and almost slapped myself as I realised I hadn’t brushed my hair. I found a bobble on my wrist, so I combed my fingers through my hair, plaited it, twisted it up into a bun and wrapped the bobbled round it. It looked OK, thank God. I couldn’t believe how awful today had started off.

I sipped my coffee as I waited for my stop. The bus journey to the studio I’d been told to go to would take over an hour, so I settled in for a long wait.

\---

Eventually, I arrived. I hopped off the bus and ran into the studio as it had begun to rain, the default weather in England. I sprinted into the studio and found Ben waiting there. “Hey!”

“Morning, Meg!”

“Do you know what we’re doing today?”

“Violin training, gun handling and I think you’re down for throwing knives too.”

“Let’s get started then!”

\---

Ben and I were learning to ‘play’ the violin. We were instructed by Miss Weing, a small, elderly, professional violinist. She instructed up on how to hold the violin, some basic fingering and bow techniques too. Ben and I shared a violin, and he was pretty good at it. He’d already done this before though, so he helped me quite a lot. We were learning how to look like we were playing the violin, not how to actually make music with it.

We worked for a few hours. Miss Weing had made me take my hair down for most of the session, so I did look a little like I’d been dragged through a hedge backwards, but only mildly. She’d said I needed to get used to my hair getting in the way when I was trying to play, and she was right. My hair seemed to get everywhere as I attempted to play the violin. We then got an hour to play by ourselves, without Miss Weing as she was summoned to pick her daughter up from school due to a nasty bout of stomach flu. Ben ended up holding my hair back for me as I picked up the violin so it didn't get tangled. Eventually, I just stuck my hair into a messy bun to get it out of the way. “Your hair looks nice like that.”

“Thanks.” I could feel my cheeks burning from the unexpected compliment.

\---

Gun handling was next, and it was pretty fun. We got given some model guns, copies of the ones we’d be using in shooting. I got a simple black gun with intricate engravings of flowers on it. “It’s a Webley-Fosbery, .45 automatic, eight shot.” I smiled at the gun specialist, Tom. He showed Ben and I how to draw, shoot, strip, clean and unjam our guns. They were perfect models, they just didn’t shoot bullets.

Ben just had to be able to pull a gun and shoot standing up while I was expected to be able to roll, shoot, dive for cover and basically be as good as Black Widow. Tom taught me a few basic stances and positions, and showed me how to roll. When I’d mastered the basics, he told me to practice the moves at home. “It’s important you look comfortable with the gun in your hands, like you were born with one there.” I was also informed that the stunt choreographer was going to teach me a little more in just over a weeks time.

When we completed his ‘crash course to guns’ we got to practice shooting with them. They were loaded with paint balls, and we were taken to a target. Ben and I had a competition, with the prize of highest score being a piggy back. I won by one point, at which I was glad. How would I give Ben a piggy back? I’d end up face planting us both.

We got to keep our model guns to practice with, although all the paintballs were removed first. I felt fine with it hanging at a halter on my belt. It was a weight that felt natural, almost protective. I hoped I’d be allowed to keep it when shooting stopped.

As I got a piggy back to a final room, knife throwing, my arms tightened around Ben’s shoulders as he literally galloped in, almost trying to shake me off. Straight away I was given a knife and told to throw it at a target in a wall. “We want to see how your body moves naturally first. All of your moves need to be effortless and instinctive.” I drew my arm back and threw the knife, concentrating fiercely as I spun it through the air, shocked when it hit the target with a dull thunk.

Ben looked at me in shock. “How did you manage that?”

“I don’t know.” It was beginners luck though, as my next few throws missed by a couple of feet. I was then coached quickly in a stance and arm movement to use. For two hours, I stood there throwing knives at targets. By the end of the session I’d gotten a 78% accuracy rate on hitting the target.

Ben gave me a high five when I’d finishes. He’d elected to stay with me although he hadn’t needed to. As we left the room, he commandeered my phone. I grabbed it back quickly, all too aware that my messages were full of teasing messages from my friends about getting a job in Sherlock. There was more than a few Johnlock insinuations from them, and I did not want Ben to find them.

He hugged me as I left, a warm embrace that left me tingling. I had to run to catch the bus as he waved after me. I hopped on just as it was pulling away from the curb, grinning at him cheekily as he jogged towards me even as we picked up speed. I was still smiling to myself an hour and a half later as I let myself into my flat. I fell asleep promptly on the sofa. The day had been fun and exciting, but also long, hard and tiring. 

My last memory was Ben’s attempt at actually playing the violin. It’s sounded nice, for a split second, before morphing into a cat being strangled. I’d laughed at that, Ben had just smiled bashfully. I was still smiling in my dreams.


	10. Scripts!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Ben POV. Sorry it took so long to do!

I got up early, showered, shaved and put the kettle on. As I was waiting for it to come to the boil, I quickly typed a text, the number I’d memorised yesterday popping easily into my head. ‘Good morning, Sunshine! - Ben’

I put some toast under the grill, brewed a cup of tea and slowly woke up. I hoped Meg would get the reference. Yesterday, she’d been humming ‘good morning sunshine’ under her breath, something I’d teased her about. I grinned at her reply, ‘Alert. Hottest Man in the World has woken up!’ I smiled a little, while cringing a little at the title I’d been given. It didn’t seem like something Meg'd send though, so I wasn’t at all surprised when my phone buzzed again a few seconds later. ‘Ignore that! Carrie not me! Good morning :)!’

I smeared some marmite on my toast and had a gulp of tea, replying to Meg’s text. ‘See you at Studio B soon! Scripts!’ I was a little nervous, but very excited too. I couldn’t wait to see what fiendish deductions Mark and Steven had written for me, what plot twists were in store and how many scenes I had with Mark and Meg. I loved doing scenes playing off Mycroft’s character, and the prospect of a new Homes sibling was something I was really looking forwards to. I began to imagine the possible murders I’d get to ‘solve’, daydreaming a little as I mentally reviewed the cases we hadn’t yet done from the original books, eating my toast as I daydreamed.

\---

My phone went off at 10.’Where are you?-Martin’ Shit! I’d lost track of time. I needed to be at the Studio 10 minutes ago. I ran out of the flat, grabbing my helmet as I jumped onto my bike, kicking off quickly. I was annoyed. I’d gotten up early simply so I wouldn’t be late! But I still was! I have serious time management problems, something that irritated almost anybody I came into contact with, Martin especially.

I ran into the studio and was ushered straight through into the lounge area. The whole cast was standing there. Martin, Amanda, Rupert, Una, Louise, Meg… We all got given a sealed envelope, white and sturdy. Steven gave his usual speech about how he was sorry the script was late etc, and that there was the readthrough tomorrow, followed by dinner at Amanda and Martin’s.

I grinned at Meg when we were dismissed. “Do you want to go over our scripts together?” She smiled at me hesitantly.

“That’d be great! Yes!” The sun was shining, so we walked to the nearest park and sat on the grass together, our knees close, not quite touching. I read through my script quietly, the only sound was Meg’s rustling pages, turning in synchrony with mine. I was surprised at how many scenes I had with her in, and what a major role she had. It seemed like she was there to bring equilibrium and peace back to 221B in the most violent way possible. I guess now I knew why she’d had to learn to throw knives.

Once we’d read through the whole script we began to talk through some of the scenes we’d be doing together, practicing how we could bounce off each other. I began to feel buzzed. I was playing off Meg better than I’d ever played off anybody. Our scripted conversations and banter came out naturally and freely. After an hour I knew I was going to enjoy this season of Sherlock shooting.

After a while the sun went in, and it became colder quickly. I walked into a cafe without thinking, Meg just behind me. When I’d been with her, somehow I’d forgotten how famous I now was. All of Starbucks turned to face us as we entered, and suddenly a large portion of the girls there stood up and began to rush towards us. I grabbed Meg’s hand tightly, then ran out of the shop.

It was beginning to rain, but we ran through the downfall as the girls chased us. I don’t know how long it took for us to lose them, but we were both soaked through by the time we were alone again. Meg was shivering slightly and I was quite cold too.

“Should we go back to mine?” Meg asked. “We can go through our scripts again and warm up.”

“That’d be great!”

We were still holding hands as we walked off, something I hadn’t even realized we were doing until we got to Meg’s front door. She let us in, but she had to use both hands to twist the key. It was only when her hand was missing from mine that I noticed it had been there.

We walked into the flat, creating our own personal puddles. Meg chucked me a towel before rushing into her room. She went through a drawer quickly, then pulled out a dark blue polo top. She tossed it to me, then went through another drawer. A pair of boxers came flying towards me. There weren’t any trousers unfortunately, but half dressed is better than soaked though.

I went into the bathroom to get changed while Meg dried off in her room. She emerged a few minutes later than me and met me in the lounge. I’d put the kettle on already, so she poured two cups of tea and waited for it to brew. Once it was ready, she removed the teabags, added milk and sugar to our respective cups, then sat on the sofa with me.

I fished my script out of my pocket, and gave a cry of dismay. The rain had soaked my script and it had disintegrated into a pile of mush. Meg checked her pockets, then produced a similar pile of mulch. I scooped it out of her hands and threw it in the bin. There was no way we’d be able to read it now.

The rain had gotten heavier, and it looked like a storm was setting in. I returned to the sofa and mentioned the weather to Meg. She whipped out her phone and checked the weather forecast. “It’s due to clear up by 8. Why don’t you hang round here till then?”

I began to protest, not wanting to impose. Meg just gave me a look. “You're in a tshirt and boxers. Unless you want to get back in your wet clothes you’ll have to ride home in them.” I closed my mouth, accepting her logic. To be honest, I’d love to spend more time with her. “If I stick your clothes in the dryer now, they should be ready for 8.”

I helped her shove the clothes in the dryer. Meg grabbed a film and stuck it on, then piled some blankets onto the sofa. She snuggled into one and I grabbed another, placing it over my bare legs. As the title screen came up, I grinned. It was my favorite film, Ghostbusters! Meg looked at me. “Is this film OK?”

“Are you kidding! It’s my favorite!”

“Mine too!” We settled down and began to watch, slowly getting absorbed in the film. Had a break about halfway through where I dashed to the loo as Meg brewed some more tea. We sat back down on the sofa, but this time I sat next to Meg, not on the other side of the couch. As the film continued, we leant into each other. My arm went around her waist as her head rested on my shoulder. My hands once again began stroking her arm, a motion now natural to me.

I lost interest in the film quickly. Meg’s floral scent was caressing my senses, her body pressed gently into mine. Her slight curves yielding slightly against my skinnier frame. I was all too aware of how little we were wearing. Meg was in her pj’s and I was in what I would usually wear to bed too. I was glad of her obliviousness to my discomfort, the sparks of electricity passing between us unregistered. I was seriously considering taking a leap and kissing her. 

I began to shift unconsciously, tilting her head a little towards mine. Meg’s eyes met mine. They were full of the electricity passing between us. Not so oblivious then. I tilted my head a little, a silent invitation…

“Hey, Meg! How was…” Carrie trailed off. I was blinking rapidly against the sudden light. Carrie had switched the light on as she came in. “Hi, Ben.” I smiled at her, a little irritated that we’d been interrupted, but glad too. I didn’t want to rush things with Meg and risk ruining our friendship.

Meg smiled at Carrie. “Hi! How was work?”

“Good, thanks. Mr Fletcher pulled through! He’s now off the life support machine.”

“That’s great!” 

Carrie turned her attention to me. “Have you seen the roads?”

“No. Why?”

“There’s about 10 centimeters of water on the roads.”

“Your joking!” Now I was panicking. How was I going to get home if I couldn’t ride my bike? I lived over an hour away.

“No. It doesn’t look like it’s going to go away soon either.”

“Are there any hotels nearby where I could stay the night?”

“Yes”

Meg piped up. “You could always stay here.”


	11. Staying the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys!
> 
> I'm gobsmacked that you've all liked this so much! All of your comments and kudos are keeping this alive.
> 
> I'd love to mention you all by name and give you a hug, but knowing me I'd miss someone out and there'd be a lynch mob!
> 
> I love you all :)
> 
> xxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Ben POV!
> 
> It's a little short, and half of it is from 'If You Were Mine'. Yes, I was feeling lazy today and I couldn't bear to keep this part out of the story.
> 
> Enjoy!

Meg piped up “You could always stay here.” I looked at her, a little in shock. I tried to figure out where I’d sleep. Presumably she wasn’t offering to share her bed, but other than the sofa I didn’t know where else I could stay. 

I could see Carrie giving Meg a long, searching look. She mouthed something I (fortunately) couldn’t read, as it made her blush. Meg gave her a playful slap. “On the sofa bed, you dummy!”

“Oh! I’d forgotten it did that!” Carrie leant in and whispered something in Meg’s ear as she turned even redder.

“I wouldn’t want to impose. I can go to a hotel, no problem.” Both Carrie and Meg gave me looks that said, ‘no way, hosay!’

Carrie left as we watched the last 10 minutes of the film. I walked through into the kitchen to see what I could do to help. Meg and I were given knives to cut vegetables with as Carrie sliced up chicken breasts. There was an easy flow of banter between the two women, with jokes about Carrie’s now precarious position as Meg could throw knives to a relatively high degree of accuracy. I stayed quiet for the most part, letting the conversation flow around me, smiling occasionally at the small innuendoes Carrie kept throwing in.

We were both hustled out of the kitchen when Carrie began to fry off the chicken, claiming she needed room to breath in the small galley kitchen. Her comment that, “oxygen is quite imperative to survival, let alone making dinner” got a laugh out of Meg and a chuckle from me.

We went into the lounge, and began to attempt to remember at least a few of the lines we’d rehearsed earlier. I was hopeless, and kept breaking into last season’s deductions accidentally. Eventually, we gave up. Meg fished a book out of the bookcase, and held it up teasingly. “Ever read this?”

“No.”

Meg looked at me in shock. “How have you not read Percy Jackson!?”

“Umm...”

“I must enlighten you! Budge over.” She squirmed under my arm and opened the book. She read out loud to me, giving all the characters strange voices. She made me read the male characters, tickling me until I gave them all funny voices too. The fast paced narrative, along with the company made it much more interesting than reading normally would be.

Carrie came in after 8 chapters. “Dinner’s ready!”

\---

After dinner, I decided to wash up. Both Carrie and Meg protested, but, as I said, they were feeding me and having me over for the night, the least I could do is wash a few plates.

Once I’d dried and stacked the plates, I stuck the kettle on, made tea and took it through to the lounge, where I joined Meg and Carrie on the sofa. Carrie went to bed soon after, so Meg and I continued to read Percy Jackson. This time, Meg got me to read the narrative too. She’d once again wormed her way under my arm. I let my arm settle across her shoulders and held her tightly. She slowly drifted off without me realising it, ironically in the most exciting part of the book. When I realized she was asleep, I considered moving her to her bed and settling back on the sofa, (the bedding was on the arm) but she looked comfortable and I was enjoying our cuddle.

Meg shifted a bit. Then a lot. She squirmed and shifted, still gently snoring, until we were both lying on the couch, her arms wrapped around my waist, keeping me firmly in place. I just relaxed and matched my breath to hers, allowing the events of the day creep up on me and fell blissfully asleep.

\---

I woke up several hours later, face to face with Meg. She was shaking gently and hiding her head in the cushions. I was about to ask her what was wrong, when a bright flash of light gave birth to an enormous 'RRRUMBLE KRAAK!”

I winced inwardly. I was no fan of storms either, and this one was incredibly loud. I wrapped my arms around Meg, pulling her to me. She rolled closer and buried her head in my neck, inhaling shakily. I was holding her so tightly I could feel her entire body shaking. “Are you OK?”

“Astraphobia” She mumbled. “It normally isn’t this loud at home.” I opened my mouth to reply as another loud crack sounded making Meg bury her face back into my chest. I laughed gently, running my fingers soothingly down her back. The sound was obviously what was scaring her, so I cast around in my mind for something I could recite, simply to take her mind off the weather. Suddenly, the first few lines of “Ode to a Nightingale” popped into my head. I bent my head towards hers as I began to whisper. “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,...”

Eventually, I reached the end of the passage. As I had spoken, Meg had gently relaxed, degree by degree until she was perfectly calm again. The storm had begun to abate and sleepiness was setting in. However, there was an important issue on my mind.

“You're really warm. I’m boiling alive here.” I whispered blearily.

Meg shrugged, her voice still muffled in my neck “My back is colder than an ice cube.” I tugged my arm loose and Meg wiggled around and until we were spooning. She sighed as the extra heat from my stomach warmed her icy back. She giggled softly as I shivered as our bodies made contact. She really was freezing. “Much better.”

“Okay.” I was tired and, although sleeping together should have felt strange, it felt surprisingly natural. I nuzzled my face into the back of her neck as we drifted off again.


	12. The Read Through

I woke up slowly, unwilling to open my eyes. My back felt strangely warm, a small breeze ruffling the hair at the nape of my neck. Sam must have climbed in bed with me again. My eyes opened blearily to weak morning sunlight as I cast around for my alarm clock, hoping I could have another hour of sleep before getting up.

I got the shock of my life when I almost fell off the sofa. The arm slung around my waist tightened instinctively, stopping me faceplanting so early in the morning. My brain raced to catch up. I was on the sofa, a spring digging into my hip, in the arms of none other than Benedict Cumberbatch. I considered sliding out of the sofa and going into my own room, to avoid any potential awkwardness, but my laziness eventually won out, so I snuggled closer to my heat source and let my eyes close again. I had reached that strange point of consciousness where I was half asleep, yet fully conscious of the outside world. I lay there in this strange form of consciousness, unaware of how much time was passing.

I was jolted out of this trance-like state when something nuzzled softly into the back of my neck, a slow, unconscious movement. It’s was too slow, too gentle to be called a sniff. It’s was a gentle inhalation, one that left the hair on the back of my neck in goosebumps. I could tell the moment Ben actually began to wake though. His whole body stiffened and I can guess his eyes opened quickly. Once his brain had registered the situation, he relaxed a little before gently pulling me closer, his body conforming to mine, his arm slipping further round my waist.

His hand was splayed on my bare stomach, my top had scrunched up, baring my midriff. My lungs began to have a little trouble working properly. As my breath unconsciously hitched, I started praying that Ben wouldn’t notice. I could feel, rather than hear, his chuckle at my response, the vibrations running through my body.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself instantly lost in his. His lips quirked up in a little grin. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Good morning! But I’m more like a troll at the minute than a princess!”

That made him snort. “Nope, definitely disney ready.” My cheeks began to flush a little. I was aware of how easy it would be to lean up a little and kiss him. I shifted a bit, considering my options. I shifted a few centimeters too many.

I ended up on the floor, dragging Ben down with me. I’d instinctively grabbed him when I’d begun to fall, and we ended up sprawled on the floor, laughing in a little heap. Carrie walked in, stopping a little in shock, her eyebrows raising a little when she saw my top.“Morning” I blushed as I looked down and realised my top had twisted to reveal (for me) an indecent amount of my chest. I stood up quickly, adjusting my clothes, pulled Ben to his feet, then showed him to the shower.

I left him too it, went into the kitchen and grabbed the ironing board. I retrieved the clothes from the dryer and quickly ironed them. I kept Ben’s clothes and what I’d wear today out of the folded pile. I noticed Carrie was giving me these little looks. I eventually met her eyes. Her eyes were full of mirth, but still a little shocked. “What’s up?”

“What happened last night?” She sounded intrigued, and happy.

“Ben and I were talking. I must’ve fallen asleep accidentally.” Carrie raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Honest! We were reading PJ.”

“Hey, I believe you. But if he starts to take you for granted and treat you like shit, I’m going to knock his head off.” Her voice was light and easy, but the threat run under it. I knew she meant it, and I hoped she’d never have to.

“Thanks, Carrie. But I doubt he’ll do that.” I couldn’t stop smiling though. Carrie and I stuck together through thick and thin. I didn’t doubt she’d slap him if I came home crying one night. Carrie smiled at me a little wickedly, her eyes flitting to the shadows behind me.

“Just remember the no sex in the flat rule, ok?” I immediately blushed. Carrie laughed a little as she left the room through the doorway behind me.

I turned to mock glare at her, then stared at the doorway in shock. Ben was stood there awkwardly. Carrie left the room quietly as I handed him his clothes. Neither of us spoke for a minute. I was still blushing furiously and Ben didn’t seem to know where to look. Eventually, I let out a nervous giggle. Ben caught my eye and smiled. Suddenly the awkward silence was full of laughter and words.

I left to change and clean up. I climbed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before quickly brushing my hair and plaiting it. I let a few baby strands round my face fall out, giving the french braid a softer look. I grabbed a pair of socks at random and stuck them on quickly before returning to the kitchen.

Carrie stuck a plate of toast on the table as I entered the room. The three of us ate quietly, in a companionable, but slightly awkward silence. Ben seemed to be avoiding looking at Carrie as much as possible, and every time mine and her eyes met she gave me a saucy wink that made me blush again. The slurps of tea and crunching of toast filled the kitchen.

Eventually, Carrie started humming. It filled the gap and Ben could finally meet her eye and ask her to pass him the strawberry jam. After that, a timid conversation blossomed. When it finally became clear that Carrie wasn’t going to say anything else inappropriate, Ben visibly relaxed. Quickly, a debate grew about what was better, Sherlock or Dr Who. Controversially, Ben was pro Dr Who while Carrie was trying to convince him how epic Sherlock was. I was shaking with silent giggles by the time Carrie had won Ben over.

Eventually, we needed to leave for work. Ben and I stepped out onto the street, the clear skies belaying the fact there had been a storm the night before. We walked together on the pavement, chatting easily about this and that, the 10 minute stroll taking no time at all.

As I walked in through the door, Ben held it open for me. I smiled at his typical gentlemanly actions, thanking him politely as I walked in under his arm. As we walked towards the desk, our finger tangled together. “Nervous?”

“A little. You?”

“Nah. If you mess up, it’ll just be laughed off. You’ll ace it, don’t stress.” Ben gave my fingers an encouraging squeeze. “Just don’t forget to smile!”

\---

The read through had gone pretty well, with no major mishaps. Once Ben and I had explained what had happened to our scripts, Mark laughed it off and gave us new ones. Martin and Amanda were having the whole cast over for a meal, and were taking Ben and I directly to their house. Ben because otherwise he’d be late, and me so I could meet the kids before everyone else arrived. I was going to their house in their car while Ben drove his bike. It was raining lightly, more like being very humid than actually raining though, so Ben was adamant on not getting into the car.

Two kids ran out of the house as we pulled up into the drive, a small woman following them. She hugged Amanda before driving off. “That was their nanny” Martin informed me. “And these little monkeys are Cody and Zo.”

“Hi!” I smiled at them warmly.

“Hello.” A small hand was extended towards me.  
“I’m Cody Freeman and this is my sister, Zo Freeman” I shook the extended limb formally. I then shook Zo’s hand too. The two kids seemed very serious. Once the brief introductions were over, however, so was the formality. 

My legs suddenly became a rock to which two limpets were attached. Amanda just pushed me gently into the lounge. “If they get to be too much, just call and I’ll detach them.”

“Thanks” I was pulled to the ground and suddenly engaged in an all out wrestling match. The two of them were trying to pin me down, so I kept carefully pushing myself upright, eventually allowing myself to be subdued when they were tiring. It was a useful tip I’d learnt back home. Only let the kid win when they’re tired and they won’t be as hyper when they finally win.

Cody sat triumphantly on my chest as Zo left the room briefly. She returned with two miniature long haired dough hounds. “This is Archie and Jodie,” she lisped. I sat up and extended a hand to pet them briefly, Cody falling backwards into my lap, giggling as he did so.

“Hello” The two dogs gave the kids a new lease of life and suddenly I was attacked by four eager little hyper things. I just lay there and giggled as they tickled me into submission. Suddenly, two squirming bundles were removed, giving me a chance to get my breath back. 

“Ben!” The two kids leapt off me and into his arms, before wrestling him to the ground as well. He was overwhelmed by them and eventually was lying next to me, Cody trying to tickle his feet while Zo sat on his legs. I sat up, Archie and Jodie jumping into my arms and demanding to be petted. I complied, and that’s how we sat until Amanda came in to tell us dinner was on the table. A sunny grin broke across her face as she saw us all sprawled in a heap.

We walked through to the dining room, which was full of people. I was sat next to Ben and Rupert with Zo opposite me. We ate a vegetarian curry with rice and naan bread, followed by some banana ice cream. The conversations around the table rippled quietly. I spoke a little to Rupert, who was trying to slip the dogs bites of naan, but mainly to Zo, who tried to tell me her life story in between bites of food. Ben and I barely spoke, but once we’d finished our hands, without me noticing, had knotted together again. I had no idea who had started this habit, but I knew that it was already going to be hard one to stop.

Once dinner was over, it was quite late. We’d eaten unhurriedly and it had lasted well over two hours. Amanda got out a coffee pot, but I declined. If I had caffeine this late at night I’d never fall asleep.

Ben elected to drop me off at home, so we drove off on the bike, the darkened streets zooming past us. He walked me to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye” Ben hugged me briefly, then dropped a kiss on my cheek. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, my dreams vividly happy.


	13. Hair and Makeup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MarinaK - Here you go! I'm sorry I couldn't get the kids in, but maybe in a few chapters I'll try and get them in again.
> 
> AnnaFrederieke - And so it begins… I'll try to get a jealousy complex in in a few chapters, but we shall have to see...

I climbed out of bed before the sun. I’d left clothes out last night, so I yanked them on, en route to the kitchen. I grabbed some fruit and left the house, jumped on the bus and made my way to the back. There were few people on the bus at stupid o’clock (aka 5:15) so I had the top level all to myself.

The bus journey took about 2 hours, time I filled with a nap and humming to myself. By the time we got to the outskirts of London, I was the only person on the bus. I clicked the bell a stop early, so I could walk the last few minutes to wake myself up. I was still about an hour earlier than I needed to be, but with the bus routes it was either be an hour early or 3 hours late.

Fortunately, some of the stage crew were already setting up, so I was let in and began to help unload the massive skips of props and set them out according to very detailed diagrams. People were literally checking distances to micro-millimeters, so I just shuttled chairs, cushions and ornaments to the various sets for someone else to place.

After about an hour, Mark found me and lead me to a room with his, mine and Ben's name written on it, along with a notice board declaring ‘HOLMES!’ and various demands for products. “This is our makeup room. Our team is already in there. They want to see what sort of skin you have so they know how to tackle it. They’ll have you for two hours.”

“Um, Ok.”

Mark grinned at me “I don’t understand why they need so much time either.”

I entered the room and was immediately introduced to two women, Mae and Sky. They sat me down and immediately began to asses my skin tone. Then several different foundations were tested against my jaw until they had found the perfect match. “You’re exactly the same tone as Mark!”

“This is going to be easy. Smooth skin, no acne, only a few minor flaws. Piece of cake.”

“Yep, perfect… except… are those freckles?” I did have a light scattering of freckles across my nose and cheeks, faint but definitely there.

“Yeah” I responded.

“How bad do they get?” 

“How many will there be?” 

“How dark do they get?”

“I only have these ones here, and they normally stay quite light. Why?”

“We need to cover them with foundation or they’ll wreck havoc on continuity”

“We once had someone with really dark freckles that kept changing and expanding, and we had to redo a weeks worth of shooting to ensure continuity, so we’re a little paranoid now.”

“Yeah, they had to wear, like, a pound of makeup to cover them.”

“Apart from that, your skin’s perfect though, I can’t beleive we thought we needed two hours for this!” 

“Since we’ve got so long to kill, why don’t we try making you up now so you can see what you’ll look like on camera?”

“Yeah! That’d be great, thanks!”

The two of them sat me down in a chair before the mirror, before spinning the chair 180 degrees. “It’ll be more fun if it’s a surprise!” and immediately began squeezing various tubes of makeup out onto brushes and applying it all over my face. For about an hour, a constant stream of chatter was kept up as I followed directions. “Chin up” or “Can you shut your eyes?” and then “Blink really fast”. 

I got a little scared when they got out the eyelash curlers. Why isn’t the inventor of eyelash curlers working in an interrogation room? They legitimately look like a medieval torture device.  If someone got them out, I’d blab everything straight away. What if someone slams the door right now and I jerk my head and Mae rips out all of my eyelashes in one fell swoop? 

And the eyebrow grooming wasn’t fun either. It’s not like I’ve got caterpillars glued above my eyes, but they aren’t the flawless, flowing brows a Homes should posses. I’d repeatedly considered plucking my brows before, but I was always scared I’d either make them uneven, or pluck too much and end up with no brows at all. However, Sky and Mae were professionals, so I sat back in the knowledge that they shouldn’t make a massive mistake and leave me looking lopsided. They also styled my hair, straightening it and then curling it into tight waves. A few strands were braided and pinned up, effectively keeping my hair out of my face.

Eventually though, the chair was spun around and my new face was revealed. I stared at it in shock. It wasn’t me in the mirror, it was some elven princess with a vague resemblance to me, her blemish-free skin glowing as if lit by an inner flame. Her hair drew attention to her high cheekbones and large eyes, the braids giving an impression of a tiara balanced in her curls. I blinked in shock, until eventually I found something that was me, not this perfect piece of a person. The small scar on my lip, pulling it up slightly. This small imperfection gave me back my face, and my voice. “Wow”

“It’s great, isn’t it! We literally just contoured a little and concealed your scars”

“It’s incredible!”

“We’ve still got an hour left, so…”

“Don’t ever offer Sky!”

“...We could treat you to our piano duets!” Mae groaned a little, but when she saw my enthusiastic grin, she moved a pile of books while Sky grabbed a stack of makeup boxes. A piano was slowly revealed in the corner of the room, its wooden sheen fitting in perfectly with the pale yellow of the walls. Sky sat at the piano and began to play, then she and Mae began to sing. After three rather decent renditions of various ABBA songs, I was invited to center stage.

“Do you play?” I nodded my head in assent. “Here you go, have a little tinkle on this.”

“Anything in particular?”

“Have you heard Brave?”

“Yeah! Do you two want to sing with me, or shall I go solo?”

“Why don’t you start and we’ll join in” I sat and began to play the basic chords with my left hand, improvising a melody with my right, before transposing it to D. I began to sing, stopping the melody with my right hand until only the chords were supporting my voice. Sky and Mae began to sing, so I dropped down a few tones to make a simple harmony. I slowly became lost in the music, playing more and more requests until I’d been playing for over half an hour non stop. Eventually, I began to play ‘You Belong with Me’.

“ARGH!” A pair of strong hands clamped down on my waist, shocking me. Jerking back in shock, I screamed as I fell backwards off the piano stool, automatically tensing for the impact. The hands on my waist tightened a little, so I found myself leaning back, parallel to the ground, staring up into Bens mischievous face. I smiled at him, glad he’d caught me. He helped me to sit back up, then slid onto the piano stool with me. It wasn’t the biggest stool in the world, so we were budged up tight to one another.

“Will you play for me?”

“Of course. Anything in particular?”

“How about that song you were just playing?” 

“OK then” I began to play, singing softly. It was a little surreal, singing a love song to him. Ben just watched, humming a little under his breath. When I’d finished the song, Ben asked me to teach him a few songs for fun. I decided to try (and failed to) and teach him a little Einaudi. We began to play, time passing away quickly. Sky and Mae disappeared at some point, giving us a little privacy. Eventually, Martin popped his head in to tell us we were needed on set. He gave Ben a searching look before he left, something I pretended to ignore so he wouldn’t be embarrassed. 

We left the prep room pretty quickly after that and went on set. The whole crew was there, and some of the cast. Martin and Mark were the only main actors present, and were standing in a row, meeting all the newest minor cast roles. That in itself made me realise how big a part I’d scored. I was the only person here that had been invited to the dinner last night. Ben left me to join in with meeting the newest cast. I looked around, seeing if I recognised anyone. The person playing Mrs Hudson's’ daughter looked familiar, so I figured I must have seen her at the audition. I didn’t recognise anyone else.

Then I saw who Ben was in the process of shaking hands with. Andoni. Of all the people I’d been to stage school with, it’d have to be him I got saddled with. He turned around and noticed me, before beelining to my side. “Hey you got in too?”

“Yep. What part did you get?”

“Lestrade's son, Brian. You?” I quickly thought back to my script, and realised he was playing my love interest. Shit.

“Elspeth Holmes”

“Whoa! Well done! But wait a second… You’re ‘Ellie’ in the scripts”

“Yeah” Monosyllabic answers weren’t going to change the fact that he was about to realise, but they made me feel better.

“But, that means... I get to kiss you, on screen”

“No shit, Sherlock”

“Well. I can promise you there’ll be lots of rehearsals” Andoni pulled what was meant to be an alluring, sexy face that just looked wrong on him. He’s like my brother, an incredibly irritating one, and the thought of kissing him, just… eurgh.

Ben came over, my knight in shining armour. “Everything OK?”

“Yeah. Doni was just leaving.” He got the hint and left. I looked at Ben desperately. “I’ve got to kiss him”

“Why?”

“It’s in the script. He’s Brian.”

“Do you want to kiss him?”

“God, no. But there’s nothing I can really do, is there?”

“Well, if he gets the wrong end of the stick, I’ll sort him out.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem” Ben gave me a little squeeze before moving off to introduce himself to some more of the new cast, shoving me gently towards a group of muscular guys in black as he left. “Talk to them for a while. Andoni probably won’t approach you with those guys around”

I introduced myself to the group of guys, who turned out to be the stunt co-ordinators. Jack, Toby, Theo and Will. Their head of department was missing, but I got to know them quite well, and they even began to teach me how to throw a punch when my alarm went off. “Sorry, I’ve got to go catch a bus!” I began to walk out of the studio, some quiet mutterings behind me, when I suddenly got scooped up and carried out of the door. A guy on each limb, they ran with me towards the bus stop, then carefully placed me back on solid ground. Jack looked at me in surprise, “You didn’t yell out.”

“Why would I? You wouldn’t drop me”

Jack grinned at me mischievously. “Hear that guys. She doesn’t think we’d drop her...” I was once again suddenly held up in the air. He’d moved so quickly, I hadn’t had time to dodge, then he me threw towards another guy, Toby. I screamed a little as I suddenly began flying through the air. 

He caught me and sat me on his shoulders. “Your right. We wouldn’t drop you… on purpose” The boys were all laughing and grinning, so I knew they were just joking around, but that didn’t stop my heart trying to escape from my chest for a few minutes. When my bus finally arrived I was lifted off Toby’s shoulders and tossed into the bus. The driver looked at them in shock before taking my card and giving me a ticket. The four of them chased after the bus, waving to me until I was out of sight. It kept a smile on my face until I got home.

When I finally got off the bus, Carrie was sat on the sofa. Without looking at me, she chucked me a container of chow mein and made space for me next to her. We ate in silence, watching James Bond jump off several buildings. I headed up to bed before the movie ended, my stomach twisted a little in nerves for the first day of shooting tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your support! If you want anything at all in (or think of a new tag I could use!) just comment and I will do my best to make it happen!
> 
> I love you all!  
> xxx


	14. Vinnie and Benji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a POV change in this chapter. It's Meg up to ***, then Ben to ***, then back to Meg.  
> Hope it doesn't confuse anyone!

Once again I arrived on set early. There was nothing to do except hang around talking to the crew - all the set prep had been finished so now only technical things were being done, such as cleaning the cameras and wiring up the mics. Toby found me after a while, slung me onto his back like a sack of potatoes and took me to the rest of the guys in stunts. The head of the department was running late, so unfortunately they couldn’t start early with me, but I was content to listen to their chatter and cling to Toby like a koala.

When someone came to find me to tell me I could start to get my costume on, I was tossed to Will who carried me, bridal style, to the door of the costume wing. When I tried to wriggle out of his grip, he simply threatened to drop me and tightened his grip a little. To be honest, it was kind of fun to be transported everywhere by a group of well-toned guys. If they weren’t complaining, I wasn’t going to.

When the door had closed behind him, I quickly climbed into the cat suit indicated by Sky. She zipped me up then dragged me into our room. She explained to me that she was only going to braid my hair, but not do any makeup as I wasn’t going to be on camera for a while. Apparently Mae was held up in traffic so Sky had to deal with me by herself.

Despite the lack of Mae, my hair was done pretty quickly. I sat in the corner of the room and chatted to Sky, waiting for someone to turn up and tell me where to go next. After a while, Ben turned up for makeup, so I spoke to him while he got all ‘prettied up’. It amused me when he saw the eyelash curlers, although Sky couldn’t use them on him he looked quite scared. He glanced at me pityingly when I told him I had the privilege of using them.

When he was done, we walked on set together. The stunt guys were all standing waiting for me. There were five of them, and when I saw who was standing in the middle of them, I couldn’t help what I did. It was a knee jerk reaction, something that despite 3 years, still felt as natural as breathing. I sprinted towards him and jumped into his arms, knowing he’d catch me.

***

One second Meg was standing next to me, the next she was wrapped up in some burly blondes arms, her legs wrapped tightly around his hips, his arms possessively clutching her to his chest. He rained kisses on her face, his affectionate greeting sending little stabs of jealousy through my chest. I though I’d had a chance, but maybe not.

I approached anyway, wanting to get to know who he was, trying to keep my expression if not pleasant then at least neutral. I heard him talking about getting married and what Meg'd wear and hoped I wouldn’t be invited. I didn’t want to see someone I cared for promising themselves to someone else. After a little while I moved away, pretending not to see Amanda’s worried looks at me.

She came over to talk to me, and in a Sherlock-esque way pointed out small things she’d seen which indicated I’d gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick. Maybe it was a womanly sixth sense, the ability to see relationships.The fact that he only touched her in PG-13 zones, the way they weren’t overly affectionate like most couples their age. They hadn’t kissed on the mouth and his friends weren’t taking the mic like they would if she was his girlfriend. When he passed her a wedding invitation I realised I had gotten it wrong.

Amanda went over to investigate and came back a minute later to tell me they were best friends and that he was gay and getting married to Meg’s other best friend. Apparently they’d only been skyping and this was the first time they’d seen each other in real life for a few years. I felt better once she’d explained this, the knot in my stomach loosening. She made a remark that left me standing with my mouth hanging open in shock as I watched her walk away, her words echoing in my ears and I allowed myself a little more hope.

“Don’t be afraid. She loves you. She may not realise it yet, but she will in time.”

***

Ben got called over to shoot and the six of us got pushed off the set. Benji refused to put me down and just stuck me on his shoulders. I kept glancing at Ben, and it was quite funny watching as he suddenly went from a slack mouthed daydreamer to alert and focused. I wondered what he’d been thinking about. He’d been staring into space for a while, giving off a happy glow. He winked at me as he left. I tried desperately not to let my cheeks blush. I didn’t want him to reject my feelings, so I thought it was better to swallow them down and pretend they didn’t exist.

When the boys got me to the stunt room, they immediately began to teach me a sequence. I picked it up quickly, so they began to mock fight with me, getting me to speed up and be more fluent. Will and Toby were in another room training my opponent while I squared off against Theo, Jack watching critically and repeatedly making me go through movements to get an effortless flow to the jabs and punches. Benji just stood there, laughing whenever I fell over and pulling me back to my feet afterwards.

After a few hours, Toby came in and sent Jack and Theo out. Benji took my hand and told me the stunt I had to attempt to do. I has to jump, grab his neck with my legs and twist without hurting him too much. He looked me seriously in the eye. “Just like in gymnastics. I’ll hold your hand and you can fall on either of us. You can do this, It’s not as hard as some of our old floor routines”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to break your nose again”

“That was my fault and you well know it. Anyway, I doubt you could wreck Toby’s face. It’s already pure nightmare material” Toby laughed at him, then mock punched him.

“He only gets away with it because he pays me.”

\---

We begun to practice, Benji first holding my hands and throwing me into the air until I got the motions right, then began to throw me at Toby. I quickly got the hang of it, so Benji began to hold my hand while I tried to jump it. It took a while, and I gave Toby a few bruises around his neck that he told me not to worry about, but eventually I could do it with no helping hand. Then I got to meet who I’d be fighting.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I whispered to Benji.

“Nope” He gave me a little shove until I was shaking hands with Vinnie Jones. He was massive and the friendly grin he gave me just scared me a little more. “Just remember, you're going to beat him, not the other way round”

We squared off, going through once slowly then speeding up until it was full speed. It went perfectly, although I did punch him in the chest at one point. He didn’t even feel a thing, something that made me realised just how small I was compared to him. He was inches taller than me and weighed two or three times my weight. I literally just bounced off him.

\---

When it was lunch time, I sat next to Vinnie in the stunt room. We all got chucked sandwiches and bottles of water. The guys began to rip pieces of sandwich off and throw it at each other to catch in their mouths. They tried to get me involved, but after they wasted half of a roll, they gave up. Vinnie and I just sat and watched, him threatening to give CPR to anyone who began to choke.

When it was time to get my hair and makeup redone, they all squabbled about who would take me. Vinnie stopped the argument by scooping me up and carrying me out of the door. I told him I could walk, but he told me it was a privilege. For a guy that looks so menacing, he could be pretty sweet. He put me down at the door and departed. Mae had arrived so she began to redo my hair while Sky started on foundation. I was done quickly, with a few comments about how the boys couldn’t seem to leave me alone. I told them it was just a running joke, them proving their masculinity and all that. They laughed with me even while giving me a slightly sceptical look.

\---

Then it was time to shoot. There were few lines so we didn’t mess up much, so the fight began quickly. It was all going really well, we didn’t mess up and we’d almost finished the fight. I was tensing up, ready to make the big leap onto his neck when out of the blue… WHAM! I got a brief flash of stars followed immediately by a view of the ceiling. People were talking but I was gasping so hard I couldn't answer them. Everything faded around the edges. 

\---

I woke up in the makeup room, a first aid kit next to me, lying on the counter. Sky was trying to give me some paracetamol, so I swallowed gratefully without complaint. I was getting a cracker of a headache behind my right eye, a throbbing that wouldn’t let up. I was sitting up when Ben rushed in, Andoni on his tail.

“Are you OK?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit headachey” My attention was focused on Ben and his iridescent eyes, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Amanda drag Andoni out of the room. Ben sat on the makeup counter next to me and cupped my face in his hands, a small crease forming between his eyebrows as he examined the bruise. He gently kissed my cheek, a small butterfly kiss that left me tingling. He looked me in the eye, his face serious, a resolve hardening in his eyes. He learned forwards a little. I leaned towards him, my stomach suddenly a churning bundle of nerves as I realised we were about to kiss…

THWACK! Sky tossed away the rolled up newspaper and glared at Ben. “No molesting the patient!” He smiled at me apologetically as he got chivvied out of the room by a grinning Mae. They began to cross examine me as they reapplied foundation, concealing the bruise. I could barely feel it forming, my body now high on adrenaline as I took in being punched and almost being kissed.

\---

We did the shot, the second time it was perfect. Vinnie apologized profusely, but I told him it wasn’t his fault. It’d been my responsibility to move, not his to pull the punch. When we’d done, we got a round of applause. The stunt crew high fived me, then gave me marks out of ten for my bruise. I got 3 6’s, two 5’s and one 7. Vinnie gave me a 9 because I didn’t cry, something most full grown men couldn’t do. I’d been in too much shock to cry, but I wasn’t going to shun a high mark.

Andoni caught me before I left. He cornered me and desperately told me he’d tried to see me when I’d gotten hit but he’d been removed. I felt really uncomfortable. How could I tell him I didn’t want him to think of me in that way? Fortunately, I didn’t have too. I was rescued by Theo, who chucked me into Will’s arms who put me in Ben’s.

Ever the gentleman, he walked me to the bus stop, hugged me and kissed my cheek. I got onto the bus. It was the same driver as the day before. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. “Seems to me like you’ve gotten a fan club, missie” I just smiled at him, waving at Ben as we pulled away.


	15. Snatch it and Bananagrams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while!  
> There are some more POV changes, so keep your eyes peeled!  
> I kept re-writing this chapter until I was happy with it, that's why it took so long :( Enjoy!
> 
> Snatch It: http://www.amazon.com/US-Games-SNT100-Snatch-Stealing/dp/1572815175  
> Bananagrams: http://www.amazon.com/Bananagrams-BAN001/dp/1932188126/ref=pd_sim_t_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NQBCRCKJT7ANH506VTP

A few weeks passed on set, with the usual banter, name dropping and line botching. Martin seemed determined to mess up any scene, and had taken to hanging out off camera and pulling silly faces at us. Amanda seemed the most susceptible to this, while Ben attempted to blank him completely. Eventually, he was evicted by Mark who literally dragged him away whenever he wasn’t needed.

We were getting chunks involving Andoni done first as he was only needed for about 5 scenes total. We’d done scenes of his death and of his dead body, but unfortunately the kissing scene he’d been looking forward to kept being held back. We’d tried to do it several times, but as pretty much everyone was on that scene people kept making mistakes. Martin would flip the bird or Greg would start doing the robot. I noticed several winks passing between the boys as we kept trying to do this one scene. Ben seemed to have the most issues. His scarf or coat was always wrong, or he was smiling, or he had something in his eye. It was almost like he didn’t want the scene to go ahead. 

I smiled sleepily to myself, remembering the times he’d been glaring at Andoni too much. I mean, Sherlock wasn’t exactly the most sociable person, but he didn’t try to glare someone’s head off either. I yawned loudly, stretching and glancing out of the window. We were almost at the studio so I fought to keep my eyes open for a little longer.

The early mornings were not good for me. I was waking up at half four every morning and getting to sleep at elevenish at night. I was tired for most of the day, and it was the coffee that kept me going all morning. I’d almost fallen asleep twice this morning alone. Without coffee, I simply couldn’t function.

I got off the bus and into the studio and walked straight to Benji. He handed me a coffee before giving me a big squeeze. Our morning ritual complete, he began talking to Toby again. Fortunately the boys had stopped carrying me everywhere… in Benji’s eyesight. The second I was out of view, I had to keep my eyes peeled for them again. It was fun, but if you’re carrying a hot drink you do not want to get it over anyone.

I dove inside my dressing room to drink my coffee in peace. Once I was a slightly more animated than a zombie, I left to wander round the set for a while. I avoided the cameras, although I still got a mock-glare from Harry. Honestly, I hadn’t meant to walk into one and knock it over. I gave him yet another apologetic smile, ploughing into Mark as I did so.

He was talking to Andoni about something to do with guns. When he saw me, he smiled finishing his conversation quickly, before I was dragged into a three way debate about which superhero was the best (Thor, obviously). When Mark was called for, he told us to practice our lines with each other… or the kissing. He left with a wicked little grin that gave me the urge to slap it off his face. I had to make do with glaring at his retreating back.

So I found myself in a broom closet with Andoni. He’d grabbed my hand and pulled me into it. He settled his hands on my hips and pulled me close. “Is this OK?” My first kiss, in a broom cupboard with a guy who was more like a brother to me? Well, if I get the first one over and done with, it hopefully wouldn’t be as awkward on screen. “Yeah” I shut my eyes as he leant in, imagining he was Ben and allowing my crush to blossom for a few brief moments.

My mind was full of him, everything reminding me of him. His voice chased me through my dreams. I was lost to his eyes whenever he looked in my direction. I was awkward whenever we spoke because my brain seemed to disappear whenever I was close to him, so I took refuge in small moments of make believe and allowed myself more hope than I probably should.

But when our lips collided, it felt wrong. It was wet and rough, like Ben was trying to rip my tongue out with his. My eyes snapped open, and I realized this was Andoni, not Ben. I pulled away quickly, guiltily, then fled the room. To his credit, he didn’t try to stop me. He just looked at me like I’d kicked his puppy.

I walked to the dressing room while trying to calm down a little. My heart rate was all over the place and my lips felt weird, like they were still being squished. I counted to ten, then projected a semblance of calm and entered the room.

Sky still wormed it out of me, and just laughed, while Mae muttered about hormones, and recapped what I’d told them in a neutral voice. “So you kissed Andoni because Mark suggested you practised, something he took you up on. But you panicked and ran, and now you feel guilty.”

Sky gave me a sympathetic glance. “And I bet you're feeling guilty because you fancy Ben, not him.”

“How did you…?”

“It’s pretty obvious to me. Your eyes light up whenever he enters the room, and you giggle and blush more when you’re talking.”

Mae looked at Sky in surprise. “I’m surprised you got that when you’re on your phone all the time.”

“What do you mean! Anyway, there’s something you’re not telling us, something important. Like...” Sky gave me an imploring look and I felt my will power crumble.

“He was my first kiss” Sky just looked at me in shock. “How! Why! What!!!” She began to cross examine me, but I was saved by Ben. He came in and began to change into his suit, effectively causing Mae to start a neutral conversation about which eyeliner to use.

***

I was about to enter the dressing room when I heard voices. I stopped just outside the doorway, wary of bursting in on something. What I heard surprised me. Meg was being peppered with questions from Sky. When I figured out the subject matter, I was even more shocked. I just stood there, trying to get the facts lined up in my brain. Fortunately, Mae was summarising what had happened, an incredulous tone to her voice. “So you kissed Andoni because Mark suggested you practised, something he took you up on. But you panicked and ran, and now you feel guilty.”

I found it funny, but I was also surprised that Meg had taken Andoni up on his offer. When Sky wheedled a confession that that was her first kiss I was even more so. How could someone who looked like that gone through High School without being mobbed by boys? 

Confusion was running through my brain, but more overwhelming of was the fact that Meg liked me. I had to fight to keep a stupid grin off my face even as I walked into the room, determined to stop the inquisition as soon as possible. Now I knew how Meg felt, I could start to show my affection in a non brotherly way. The past few weeks had been torturous, trying to get closer to her while not scaring her away. I never was very good with subtlety, and more than once the urge to sweep her off her feet almost beat the gentlemanly part of me to the ground. Now I knew it was safe to advance, and inside I was jumping with glee and I got a strong desire to do a breakfast club style fist pump.

I grabbed my suit and changed quickly before Mae started makeup. There wasn’t much conversation as we got ready, so Sky kept up a steady stream of chatter to fill up the silence. I seruptiously watched Meg out of the corner of my eye and noticed how tired she looked, making a mental note to talk to her later about it.

We got onto set to shoot the scene we had been messing up for days. I motioned to Martin and Greg that there was no point messing up again. If she’d already kissed Andoni there was no point trying to stop it now. We set up scene and began, as we had so many times before, to act. Meg and Andoni were acting like they were in love and even though I knew it wasn't real, I couldn’t stop the all too familiar twinge of jealously spiking in my stomach. The way they clung to each other, their eyes softening… it was just too much. I couldn’t stop glaring at Andoni, no matter how hard I tried. We ran the scene three times (that meant he got three kisses!!!) before Steven pulled me off set.

He showed me some footage, then glared at me. I could see instantly what was wrong. Sherlock was almost vibrating with rage, something that his immaculate control of his emotions would not allow. “Can we please just get this over with. You just need to looking so hostile for five minutes, that is all. We do have a schedule to stick too. Now, let’s get back on set and wrap this up.”

I managed it eventually, but by the time Steven and Mark were satisfied Andoni had had over a dozen kisses. Meg and I walked back to our dressing room. Mark was halfway through getting his makeup done. I got my face retouched, then left with him, leaving Meg sat in front of the mirror with a box of makeup remover wipes.

\---

When I got back, Meg was still in front of the mirror. When I shook her shoulder, I realised she had fallen asleep. “Meg. Meg. Hey” She opened her eyes blearily. “It’s OK. You fell asleep.” She made a noncommittal noise, then pushed herself upright.

“Thanks”

“Are you OK? You seem tired all the time nowadays.”

“Yeah, it’s just the early mornings to get the bus”

“What time’s that?”

“Half four-ish” Well, no wonder she was tired if she had to get up that early every morning.

“What time are you getting to bed?”

“Elevenish” Her words still had a slur to them. She was basically still asleep. Her eyes were propped open by sheer will power, her eyes had bags under them.

“Let’s get some coffee into you. Otherwise you’ll fall asleep on the way home and miss your stop.” I scooped her up, against her half-hearted protestations and carried her to the cafeteria. I put her down at a table then grabbed two coffees. By the time I got back, she was almost asleep again. I gave her her coffee, then drank my own. By the time we’d finished Meg was much more lively.

I noticed that the cafeteria was pretty empty and quickly checked the time. “Meg, what time does your bus leave?”

“5” I silently showed her my watch. “Oh crud” It was almost 6.

“What time is the next one back?”

She quickly checked her phone. “10 o’clock”

“What time will you get home then?” I knew she lived quite far away and that by bus the journey would be almost doubled in time.

“Midnight probably. Tomorrow is going to be fun. I might just get a hotel room here tonight instead”

Was she crazy? Hotels were so expensive around here. “You could always stay in my spare room? That way you’ll get more sleep and you won’t have to get up so early.”

“Really! Are you sure?”

“It wouldn’t be a problem at all!”

“Well then, thank you very much!”

“Come on then. Let’s go home”

***

We walked back to his place. We talked easily, although I still made a few dumb comments, most notably when I asked if birds were animals. Ben laughed at that, his chuckle endearing. I’d blushed, mortified, but he just caught my eye and told me it was cute. If it had been possible I’d have blushed even more.

When we got to his flat he made a pot of coffee. We sat in his lounge talking. I noticed a DVD out. “Saw! How can you watch films like that?”

“It’s a good film!”

“It’s terrifying. It gave me nightmares for weeks!” Ben just poured some coffee, a smile appearing on his lips. “It’s not funny!”

“Never said it was”

“You’re laughing!”

“No I’m not. Now, have you ever played Snatch It?”

\---

We played Snatch It (a game in which you have scrabble tiles upside down in the middle of the table, turn them over one by one and try to make a word out of the visible letters first) for a while before switching to Bananagrams (where you have to make a crossword out of random letters you pick up). It was almost 8 when the buzzer went off. “Now, who could that be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've realised that you won't get the plot from my version of Sherlock when you read this, so I though maybe I should write the series up as a separate story that you could refer to if you wanted too? Please let me know if you think this is a good idea so I can start drafting up plot lines!


	16. What about jigsaws?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how regular updates are going to be from now on. I've got my first GCSE on thursday and they won't be finishing until the 12th of June. I'll try and update a few times, but I can't guarantee anything. Sorry!

I walked to the door, unsure of who it could be. When I heard Martin through the comms system I realised I must have forgotten something, probably something important. I buzzed him up, hoping to get the information discretely so he couldn’t take the mic out of me yet again for forgetting something. When I opened the door, I immediately realised what I’d forgotten.

Cody and Zo stood before me, a bag full of games, clothes and toys between them. I’d agreed to look after them for the weekend and completely forgotten about it. Martin gave me a look. “You forgot didn’t you”

“No! I was just… a little distracted, that’s all.” Cody and Zo hugged me briefly before pushing their way into the flat. I could hear their squeals of delight as they ran into Meg. “Meg! Meg!” Shit. Martin gave me another look, raising his eyebrows as he did so. I blushed a little, but managed to look him in the eye. A swift, unspoken conversation followed, with Martin eventually condescending defeat. “We’ll come and pick them up tomorrow, probably around tea-time. If that’s OK?”

“That’ll be fine. See you soon then. Have a safe journey!”

“Bye Ben. Bye, Meg!”

“Bye Martin!” She sounded a little out-of-breath. Once I’d closed the door on Martin, I walked into the lounge to find Meg sprawled on the floor, Cody and Zo once again sitting triumphantly on her chest. I lifted them off, then pulled Meg to her feet. When the two of them tried to push me off my feet, I tickled them until they were both lying on the floor helplessly, then retreated to the kitchen to make dinner before they could recover. The kids predictably stole my computer and TV for the half hour before dinner.

Meg came to join me, so I tossed her a knife and a few peppers, followed by two carrots and a courgette. Once I’d cut up a few chicken breasts I began to stir fry them. Meg added the veg after a few minutes then left to bring the kids to the table. We all sat down. Dinner hadn’t taken long to cook so hopefully I could still get them to bed on time.

The kids sat down to eat as I brought the plates to the table. Zo seemed oddly subdued while Cody was hyper. I decided to keep them off screen now until bedtime or they probably wouldn’t sleep. They ate slowly so Meg and I had finished way before they had. Meg was almost falling asleep at the table, which reminded me of my dilemma. I’d stick Cody and Zo in the spare room, which gave Meg the choice of either my bed or the sofa. I knew she wouldn’t accept my bed unless I slept in it too, something I didn’t want to offer incase it creeped her out. But I couldn’t just stick her on the sofa. I’d offered her a bed, not an uncomfortable couch with no bedding. My sense of chivalry wouldn’t allow it. I put the issue out of my mind for the moment, instead focusing on looking after Zo and Cody.

Once we’d cleared the table and stuck the dishes in to soak it was half nine, way past their bedtime. I chased them into bed and tucked them in, but Cody wouldn’t settle. Meg came in with the suggestion to read them a story. She’d looked through my bookcases and found The Hobbit. I knew Martin had already read it to them, but they seemed enthusiastic enough to hear it again. Meg opened the book and began to read, simultaneously stroking through Cody’s hair. Zo was asleep by page 15. Cody lasted until 38. When it was clear they were both under we retreated back into the kitchen.

Meg washed up against my protestations by simply beating me to the dishcloth. Instead I grabbed the tea towel, drying and putting everything away as it was cleaned. It was more efficient than my normal method of washing up and leaving it out to dry, only putting them away when there was either no more room on the draining board or when I’d run out of glasses. As we worked Meg asked me if I had any bedding for the sofa for her. When I answered the negative and told her she could have my bed she vehemently refused to push me out of it. I told her there wasn’t really a way I was going to let her sleep on the couch. She mused the problem over before telling me - in her opinion - the only outcomes of the night.

“You do realise that tonight is going to end with the two of us sleeping together don’t you? Either we’ll both be in your bed together or we’ll both end up sleeping on the sofa again.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off with an adorable smile and a well reasoned answer to my unvoiced doubts. “Well, I’m going to insist that I don’t push you out of your bed and sleep on the sofa, which your sense of chivalry won’t allow. In which case you’ll probably wait until I fall asleep then carry me in which won’t happen as I won’t sleep until I’m certain you’re asleep so you don’t put your back out trying to move me.”

“But what if Cody or Zo say something to their parents and they get the wrong idea?”

“They’ll just assume you’ve had your ‘wicked way’ with me. In which case, sofa or bed, it doesn’t make a difference.” She left the room, not giving me a chance to argue, heading towards my bedroom. So the discussion was over and I was left with the distinct impression that I’d lost, heavily, and that I’d probably never win a debate against Meg, ever.

I decided to shower before getting into bed with her, hoping she’d fall asleep before I got in with her so I could grab my pj’s and sleep on the couch. I took an extra long time, making sure every part of me was squeaky clean, even scrubbing underneath my fingernails. When the water went cold, I finally admitted to myself that I was procrastinating too much and hoped Meg was already asleep.

I quietly entered my room, grabbing my pj’s from under my pillow. Once I’d dressed myself, I began to leave the room when I sneezed. Meg’s eyes blinked open slowly and registered my presence. She gave me a sleepy smile, pushed back the covers on the other side of the bed, rolled over and fell back asleep. Against my better nature I climbed in and pulled the covers to my chin, hoping I wasn’t making a stupid mistake as I did so.

***

I jolted awake in the middle of the night to a high pitched girlish scream. There was only one person in the flat who was capable of making such a noise. “Zo!” I scrambled out of bed, my head hitting Ben’s as we sat up simultaneously. I sprinted to the spare room, Ben right behind me.

Zo was sat up in bed, pale and shaking choking out sobs between screams. Cody was hugging her, desperately trying to get her to snap her out of it. I ran to them, scooped up Zo and cradled her close. Almost instantly her screams stopped while the crying became heavier. As I rocked with her I smoothed Cody’s forehead to sooth him and lull him back to sleep. Zo’s cries puttered out slowly and had almost stopped by the time Cody had started snoring. I pressed a kiss to his forehead as I left, Zo clinging to me tightly and muttering something about jigsaws.

Ben was in the kitchen and passed me a mug of warm milk before returning to bed As Zo calmed down and drank the milk she became sleepier and sleepier. As I waited for her to calm down, my mind wandered and I realised how entangled Ben and I had been before we woke up. The thought of us being entwined so intimately made me blush, bringing an embarrassed smile to my face. When Zo was slumped into my shoulder, her breathing deep and regular I carried her back into bed, tucking her in next to Cody and sliding her stuffed bear under her arm. I made sure she was comfortable before twisting the fabric of my shirt out of her tightly clenched hands.

I padded back through to Ben and climbed into bed. I was shivering a little. The shirt and boxers I’d borrowed for the night weren’t the best thing to wear in a cold flat. I heard a rustle behind me as Ben roused himself. “Are you cold?”

“A little but...” a massive yawn cut off the rest of my sentance. Ben rolled closer and pulled me to him. His arm snaked under my head, wrapping around my collarbone and cupping my shoulder while his other arm wrapped around my waist, a solid, warm weight. Our bodies were sealed together from shoulder to calves and I was suddenly almost too warm.

I could feel every inch of Ben against me, and when he began to talk I could physically feel his voice reverberating through his chest. “Better?” I made a little hum of agreement. I was almost asleep again when Ben spoke. “I think I know what scared Zo.”

“Yeah?”

“I left Saw in the DVD slot. The TV automatically turns on the DVD if one’s inserted. She was probably watching it before dinner while Cody was on my computer.”

“You are kidding me!!”

“No.”

“That’s why she was going on about jigsaws!”

“God, was she? Martin is going to kill me.”

“That’s only if Amanda doesn’t get to you first.” I couldn’t stop smiling shamefacedly at the absurdity of what we’d done. I could hear Ben’s abashed smile through the dark, his lisp slightly more prominent. We spoke a little before falling quiet, letting the quiet rhythm of our mingled breathing slip us back into sleep.


	17. Footie and Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big love to everyone who emailed me with tag ideas, they've all been updated! Also, to the few people who asked, I now have twitter! You can follow me at @ImNotPerfectSoz for updates (I follow back). Feel free to message me via it!

I lay there peacefully, totally relaxed. Everything I could see, feel, hear and smell were foreign, yet strangely familiar. The small puffs of Meg’s breath tickling my neck. The gentle rise and fall of her shoulders as she slumbered, her exhales barely perceptible even in the near silent room. The warmth of her body pressed to mine. Things I’d only experienced once before yet felt like I’d known them for years. I breathed in the scents of sleep-warmed cotton and a faint but distinctly floral scent that I associated with Meg. 

It felt like she’d always been missing from me, without my realizing it. For the first time in a while I felt comfortable in my bed. It’d always seemed too big to sleep in alone, yet too small with another. My bed seemed now the perfect size, like I’d had Meg in mind when buying it three years ago. I’d always slept on the right and, despite the fact that Meg wouldn’t have been able to tell which side I slept on, she’d picked the left. She slept as peacefully beside me as a wife of long standing, and something inside of me was quietly telling me that I’d found the one.

I was glad we were face to face as I gazed at her, her expression peaceful, the circles under her eyes already less noticeable. Slowly, so as not to wake her, I lifted a hand up and bought it to Meg’s cheek, stroking gently with my thumb. Immediately, Meg turned into it like a moth to a flame, sighing. I allowed my mind to wander as I slowly mapped out her features, ghosting along her cheekbones, smoothing her brow, lightly tracing her lips with the pad of my thumb. When she began to stir I moved my hand back to her waist. She snuggled closer, making a contented sound when I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

***

I woke to gentle caresses and lay still for as long as I could, feigning sleep and enjoying the intimacy. I lay in Ben’s arms for a while, my face buried in the hollow of his neck as he conducted his explorations leaving a trail of sensitivity behind him. I fought the urge to giggle when he brushed over my lips, the ticklish sensation almost overwhelming my self control.

Eventually I couldn’t stay still anymore and shifted my shoulders just a little to ease the crick in my neck. Ben’s hand immediately moved back to my waist so I took a chance and tucked myself closer to him. I felt a slight soft pressure on top of my head, sending a rush through my body and causing my toes to curl. I couldn’t help the little sigh I emitted. After a few more minutes though, I began to think longingly of the bathroom. I opened my eyes, blinking a few times to clear my sleep-fogged vision before smiling at Ben. He returned my grin easily, ruffled my hair and climbed out of bed, extending his hand to me to pull me out. I followed him out of the door, but as he headed towards the kitchen I darted towards the facilities.

I looked at myself critically in the mirror, running my fingers through my hair in an attempt to at least smooth it down a little before giving up, hoping Zo would have a brush in her overnight bag. On my way back to the kitchen I popped my head into the kids room. They were both sound asleep so I decided to leave them for a while. I left the door open so the smell of food would hopefully begin to rouse them.

I shuffled into the kitchen and hopped onto the counter, swinging my legs aimlessly in the air as I watched Ben scramble some eggs. He put some toast into the oven, before asking me if I could grab him some glasses. I twisted around to fish out a few, turning back to pass them to him and found him inches away. I passed him the glasses silently, the chink of them loud in the sudden silence. Slowly, I met his eyes as butterflies formed in my stomach, watching as a resolve hardened in those blue-green orbs.

I wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly the distance between us disappeared and Ben’s mouth was skating over mine. It was soft, sweet and perfect, like ice cream that had been left out for just long enough. I melted into him with the exception of my arms which wound their way round his neck almost of their own volition. Ben was rubbing his hands up and down my sides, pressing his palms in like he’d never touched me before, like I was brand new. Like I was precious.

***

I turned as she came into the kitchen. Meg looked gorgeous, her hair swinging in loose curls. She looked like she’d just stepped off a catwalk despite the fact that she was dressed in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of my boxers and her eyes were still smudged from sleep. As I cooked the eggs, I tried not to burn them for once.

I stuck the toast under the grill, then got some orange juice out of the fridge. Meg grabbed some glasses for me while I stood by her. When she turned I found I couldn’t resist. I took the glasses off her, then leant in and kissed her, driven by an impulse I’d had no time to contain. 

I’d meant to be quick. I hadn’t expected Meg to kiss me back, not after yesterday. I carefully deepened the kiss, constantly aware for any signs of discomfort from her. The way she melted into me - like a kitten rendered immobile by a grab to the scruff of its neck - as I stroked up her sides almost broke my self control. When I finally pulled away, I looked her straight in the eye awaiting her reaction.

She smiled at me shyly, her cheeks coloring a little. I leant back in and she welcomed me right back. I smiled into it, nibbling her bottom lip when she tried to pull back. She mumbled against my lips “Ben, the toast’s burning.”

***

Ben drew away and ran to the oven, smiling at me when he rescued the small piles of charcoal. As he cut up some fresh bread I went to wake the kids. They stumbled after me, blinking slowly in the light. I tucked them into the table just as Ben bought the pan of scrambled egg to the table. 

The kids dove in once they’d woken up a little, digging into the mountain of perfectly fluffy eggs and lightly browned toast ravenously. For several minutes the kitchen was full of the sounds of crunching toast and the scrape of cutlery against plates. Ben actually looked a little surprised that the kids had eaten his food, something I wondered at seeing as (apart from the cremation of the toast) he’d navigated the kitchen with ease.

Once we’d all eaten we took the kids to the nearby park. We had a two-a-side footie match n the shade of a giant oak that Cody and Zo won, mainly due to the fact that I couldn’t seem to hit the ball in a straight line. Once Ben and I had finally had a victory I sat in the grass with Zo and taught her how to make flower chains as Ben was a goalie for Cody to practise on. I ended up just sitting there laughing as Ben tried, and failed, to intercept every shot. 

After a while, Zo began to fiddle with my hair, twisting it into little braids and twiddling strands between her fingers. When I asked her why Ben had looked surprised when they’d actually eaten breakfast she replied in her adorable, lisping little way. “It’s normally horrible, so we don’t eat it. Instead we go to a cafe or something. He tries to cook whenever we come around, but it usually ends badly.”

\---

We returned to the flat after a few hours, arriving minutes before Martin rolled up outside. We spoke to him for a while until he got a text from Amanda. “Are these guys ready to roll? Amanda’s just started cooking dinner.”

“Yep. I’ll just grab their bags.” I left the room, grabbed the bags and quickly stuffed in anything that looked like it belonged to them. I hauled them through to the lounge before rounding up the kids. They ran to Martin eagerly, circling him playfully and hugging his knees. As they left, the two of them hugged Ben and I. 

I watched Zo walk out the door, still slightly concerned about last night. We’d warned Martin about what’d happened, but fortunately she was at the sort of age where yesterday’s terrors quickly became vague shadows and she seemed to have forgotten about Saw. Her brain instead full of footie and flowers, her daisy crown still balancing precariously on top her tousled hair. 

We waved them off out of the window before turning to each other. Ben ran his hand through his curls. “I suppose I’d better get you home soon, but first...” He kissed me again and my brain went blank for a few seconds. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” I just grinned at him a little before following him out of the door and onto the bike, my brain still struggling to appreciate that we’d kissed several times.

We zoomed home quickly, the traffic light and the weather pleasant. The highrise building soon gave way to the lower, less compact complexes I lived in. Ben dropped me off and, ever the gentleman, walked me to my front door. It was a while before I buzzed up to Carrie to see if she’d let me in.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, Martin and Amanda need their kids looking after... The day after they've only just picked them up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can only apologise for how long this has taken. I don't even know if any of you are still interested in this. A million sorries, from the bottom of my heart.
> 
> Many issues have come up IRL, and to cope with that I wrote other fics, and I feel awful not paying this one any attention. The other fandom, at the time was easier to write for, and be inspired by.
> 
> I can't promise regular updates, but I can promise the occasional one. There will never be this length of gap again.
> 
> Once again, sorry. 
> 
> Love,  
> Meg xxx

I woke up to sunlight filtering through my closed eyes. The clock on my bedside table read 11:30. I was surprised I’d slept so late, normally either Carrie or Sam would have woken me up by now. As I shifted, I felt a familiar fuzzy warmth between my arms. I opened my eyes and found Sam, for once asleep, next to me. I wondered how he had gotten in, I’d shut my door before I went to bed.

The house was creepily silent. I couldn't remember for the life of me if Carrie would be on a shift right now. "Carrie. Hello?”

“Downstairs”. That didn’t sound like Carrie.

I could feel my brow furrowing. We shouldn't have had a man in the house. For once, nothing in our little home needed fixing, electrical and plumbing wise anyway. Making my way to the kitchen, I solved the simple mystery.

Benedict Cumberbatch. I just stood in the doorway to the room, looking around in surprise. Why was he here???? I then realised something even more important. I was still in my pj’s. They literally consisted of a pair of boxer shorts and a baggy t-shirt, both stolen from, as always, Benji. As I walked through the door, my shadow disturbed the light streaming in from the hall. Ben’s eyes flickered up and met with mine briefly before looking down and intently studying the kitchen table. His face started to colour beautifully. He'd seen me like this before, except then I'd had a bra... Oh.

As I wandered through the kitchen, making a pot of tea, I couldn’t get Ben out of my head. It was almost irritating, a constant nag in the back of my head noting when he looked at me when he thought I couldn’t see him. It was almost like he was shy. I snorted inelegantly. Benedict Cumberbatch. Shy around plain old me. Never!

“May I ask what is so amusing?” His voice cut through my thought process.

I just blushed a little. “Nothing much, or lots of not a lot of importance.”

“Meg, nothing you could ever think would be unimportant.” I felt my colour deepen more. He chuckled. “I’ve never known anyone blush as much as you”

“I know. I should have been born blonde, at least they look cute when they blush.”

“You do look cute.” I glanced at him, sure he was joking. His expression looked strange, unguarded and almost… hopeful… for a second, before being replaced by a little smile as Sam ran in and demanded a stroke from the stranger.

Carrie strode into the kitchen. I hoped with all my heart she had not just heard what was being said. I would literally die. “Good morning sweetheart. For breakfast would you prefer a bacon buttie or a boiled egg.”

“Ooh, nothing beats bacon.” I smiled up at her as she dropped a kiss on my head. “Would you like anything Ben?”

“Just a coffee please.”

As Carrie started cooking, I moved to the kitchen and sat next to Ben. “Not to be rude, but why are you here?”

“Mark had some urgent Sherlock plot updates. He couldn't get you on the phone, do he sent me to tell you there would be changes."

He stayed silent after that, unusual for him. “Can you tell me what they were?”

“Sorry, no. Mark would kill me.” I slurped my tea, staring into his eyes, trying to extract his secrets with pure willpower. He gazed back down at me, and I swear, just for a second, a little spark appeared between us. Not a little, soft spark though. One of real intensity and emotion. A pure arc of energy, brief as a lightning bolt. An infinite amount of power in such an incredibly short space of time, that it surely could have been used to power England for many years. I don’t know how long his eyes captured mine, the moment was timeless… So of course his phone had to ring.

Ben jumped like he’d been caught doing something appalling. He got up to answer the phone. Martin was on the other end, sounding frazzled. 

Ben looked at me, sticking the phone on handsfree. “Ben, could you do me a massive favour?”

“Of course.”

“Cody and Zo are sick, but both Me and Amanda are filming. We can’t get away to look after the kids, so could you help me look after them?”

Ben's answer was instantaneous. "Yes, just let me get ready.”

“I’ll come too” Ben looked at me in surprise, his expression asking an unsaid question. “There’s two of them, and I doubt you could carry Cody around without my help. It’ll be easier.” I smiled my thanks, then ran upstairs to get changed.

I didn’t care if I spent the rest of the day mopping up after Zo and Cody, I would be spending time with Ben! After the incredible day we'd had yesterday, it was bound to be great!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment! Let mw know if I've done an ok thing? Xxx

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated! I'll do my best to stick what ever you throw at me into this story if it is humanly possible! 
> 
> If you want to PM me:  
> Twitter: @ImNotPerfectSoz  
> Tumblr: everytimeidosomethingstupid.tumblr.com


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